Honiara, Solomon Islands: Solomon Islands  Government appointed committee that granted bemobile a licence to operate mobile phone service here has defended its decision.

The committee, chaired by chairman of the Solomon Islands Chamber of Commerce Mike Hemmer, picked little known bemobile ahead of Digicel, much to the shock of many.

It said its decision to award bemobile the licence was based on the selection criteria.

That is how face the company can get coverage happening and what sort of bond they would place to guarantee performance.

“And bemobile offered more and after coverage and their performance bond was the best” the committee, which also include Central Bank Governor Denton Rarawa and Public Solicitor Douglas Hou, said.

It said bemobile, which is operating in PNG, offered a bond of US$10 million (SBD$80 m) and will launch its operations within six months and expect to reach 81 percent of the population within 21 months.

Meanwhile, the committee said Digicel still has the chance to apply for a licence in 2011.

“Digicel still have a chance to apply in 2011. This is the first licence to be released other than Telekom and it is only for mobile service.

”In 12 months time there will be a chance for Digicel to apply for another licence,” the committee said.

The committee’s decision to give bemobile the first licence has shocked even some Members of Parliament.

In Parliament last week certain MPs also raised the question why bemobile was selected.

Prime Minister Dr Derek Sikua said he would provide the answer on the floor of parliament when he gets the details.

There were claims the bemobile’s call rates in PNG were expensive than Digicel.

Digicel has operations in PNG, Fiji, Samoa, Vanuatu, and Cook Islands.