MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine government on Friday, September 21, released the much-awaited final rules for the selection of the country’s new telecommunication player, as it seeks to improve services and break a long-standing duopoly. Under the 27-page memorandum circular, the company with “highest committed level of service” will be picked as the country’s new major service provider. Related Stories 3rd telco player to be chosen by December 2018Among the selection criteria, national population coverage was assigned the largest weight at 40 percent, followed by capital and operational expenditure, whose weighting has been reduced to 35 percent from the previous 40 percent. Meanwhile, the final version of the selection rules gave a 25 percent weighting on the minimum average broadband speed criterion, higher than 20 percent assigned in the draft document. But this target was hit with delays after the DICT and Department of Finance were locked in a stalemate on which selection mode should be used.

Source: Philippine Star September 21, 2018 05:03 UTC