DICT says third telco bid documents could be ready ‘around the second week of October’

The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) has revealed that parties interested in taking part in the Philippine government’s third telco bid may be able to purchase the requisite documents ‘around the second week of October’ this year. In a briefing yesterday (18 September), Eliseo Rio Jr., acting secretary of the DICT, said that the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) is still finalising the terms of reference (TOR), which will outline how a new major telco player will be selected. ‘The NTC is cleaning up the final version and promised to have it published by Thursday or Friday this week,’ Rio said. The bid documents were originally set for release on 26 September, but are now slated for release in mid-October, giving potential applicants up to two months to hone their offers if the country is to meet President Duterte’s latest deadline to name the third telco before the year is out.