MANILA, Philippines – At least 6 companies formalized their bids before the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to compete for the slot of the country’s 3rd major telecommunications provider.

Former Ilocos Sur Governor Chavit Singson and TierOne Communications Chairman Jonathon Bentley-Stevens went to the NTC on Monday, October 8, the first day of availability of the bid documents.

The Luis Chavit Singson (LCS) group joined the consortium of TierOne to bring the “much needed world class telecommunications services across the archipelago.”

“The TierOne Consortium assures the Filipino people, [e]specially those in areas outside the key cities of the country, that they will no longer be treated like second-class citizens when it comes to telco services,” Singson said in a statement.

According to their company website, TierOne also includes at least 17 more companies which are from various related industries such as power, blockchain, network and infrastructure, as well as device development and advertising.

TierOne is a broadband internet provider in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). 

Meanwhile, representatives of Dennis Uy’s Udenna Corp. also bought documents for the 3rd telco player bid.

Udenna Corp. spokesman Adel Tamano was spotted on several public consultations held by the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), but had evaded questions from the media whether Uy was interested to participate in the bid.

The Mel Velarde-led company NOW Corp. also purchased bid documents.

Kristian Pura, NOW’s head of business development and strategy head, said in a Facebook post that this is the “first step [in] providing world class broadband experience to the Filipino people.”

Sources also said that Norway-based company Telenor and 2 more companies which opted to remain anonymous also purchased bid documents. (LIST: Companies vying for Philippines’ 3rd telco spot)

Bid documents can be purchased at P1 million per set.

Bidders will also need to cash out some P700 million worth of participation security.

Deadline of submission of bid documents is on November 7.

The government aims to name the new player by yearend.

The 3rd telco player will be selected according to the Highest Committed Level of Service (HCLoS).

Under the HCLoS model, the 3rd telco must provide at least 5 Megabits per second of internet speed and must have at least P40 billion in capital and operational expenditure per year over a 5-year commitment period.

The draft rules also propose the following minimum and maximum national population coverage: 10% to 50% (first year), 20% to 60% (second year), 30% to 70% (third year), 40% to 80% (fourth year), and 50% to 90% (fifth year).

Under the draft rules, the selection criteria are the following: national population coverage (40%), minimum average broadband speed (20%), and annual capital and operational expenditure (40%) computed annually over a 5-year commitment period. – Rappler.com