The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) has confirmed that at least six groups have formalised their bids to compete for the Philippines’ third telco slot, including former Ilocos Sur Governor Chavit Singson and Dennis Uy’s Udenna Corp. With participants needing to pay PHP1 million (USD18,700) for the bid documents – and have PHP700 million worth of ‘participation security’ – the Luis Chavit Singson (LCS) group has joined TierOne Communications with the goal of delivering ‘much needed world class telecommunications services across the archipelago’. The pair is adamant that if successful in its bid, it will deliver services countrywide and especially ‘in areas outside key cities’ so that ‘they will no longer be treated like second-class citizens when it comes to telco services’. TierOne is a broadband internet provider in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
Separately, representatives of Dennis Uy’s Udenna Corp also bought documents for the third telco spot, joining Mel Velarde-led NOW Corp (NOW Telecom), Norway-based Telenor and two more companies which have opted to remain anonymous. Still to be heard from are local firms Philippine Telegraph and Telephone Corp (PT&T), Transpacific Broadband Group International (TBGI), Converge ICT Solutions and EasyCall Communications Inc. (ECPI), as well as the likes of China Telecom, LG Uplus, KDDI, AT&T, Viettel Group and Vodafone Group.