DICT

The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) is standing by its decision that it is unwise to hold an auction for the entry of a new major telco player.

Telco industry stakeholders have expressed their preference for highest committed level of service (HCLoS) as model for the selection of a new major telco player over auction during a public consultation conducted by the department.

An MoU was inked by the DICT with the Internet Society on multi-stakeholder governance and the co-development of the Philippine National ICT Ecosystem Framework (NIEF) 2022.

The government will launch a synchronized effort to promptly deal with consumer complaints on telco services such as those involving data privacy violations, text scams, vanishing load, unauthorized charges, defective product, and denial of subscription plan activation.

Previously, since January 6, the operators have implemented a one-year validity period for prepaid loads P300 and above.

The DICT has sought the help of multinational tech company IBM to bring the servers back online this week.

In a draft memorandum released Thursday, June 28, the DICT said participants to the auction should have a minimum bid amount of P36.58 billion.

Sen. Koko Pimentel said "it is the DICT's responsibility" to reconcile the issues and "come up guidelines that will incentivize the entry of a new telco player while protecting the interests of consumers."

The partnership deal came after Rio criticized earlier this year the NGCP after it came up with a "open letter" to Pres. Rodrigo Duterte wherein it blamed the DICT for the delay in the rollout of the broadband project of the national government.

Following the appointment of Eliseo M. Rio Jr. as acting secretary of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), Malacanang has promoted assistant secretary John Henry Naga as the agency's newest undersecretary.