China Telecom joins fray in PHL’s third telco initiative, buys bid documents

State-run China Telecommunications Corp. purchased on Friday the bid documents for the third major player in the Philippines’ telecommunications market.

“China Telecom bought the bidding documents at around 11 a.m. today, October 12,” Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Acting Secretary Eliseo Rio Jr. said in a text message to reporters.

China Telecommunications Corp. just bought selection documents - NTC | @Ted_Cordero

— GMA News (@gmanews) October 12, 2018

Prospective bidders for the third telco slot must buy the selection documents for P1 million at the National Telecommunications Commission headquarters in Quezon City.

“China Telecom is the second foreign telco to buy these documents after Telenor got theirs last Monday,” Rio said.

“This shows the confidence of telcos in the selection process by NTC/DICT that only NOW, out of seven, is challenging in court,” he added.

Now Telecom filed for an injunction before the Regional Trial Court of Manila seeking to remove certain provisions in the final terms of reference, namely the P700-million “Participation Security,” the P14 to P24-billion “Performance Security,” and the P10-million non-refundable “Appeal Fee.” 

China Telecom is the latest addition to the roster of firms that entered the fray.

Dennis Uy-led Udenna Corp., Davao-based TierOne Communications with the Luis Chavit Singson Group of Companies, Europe’s Telenor Group, Now Telecom, Philippine Telegraph and Telephone, and a group that declined to be named are among those that so far bought the documents.

In December 2017, the government announced that China Telecom has been chosen by the Chinese government to enter the Philippine telecommunications industry as the third player.

Since it is a foreign firm, China Telecom must have a local partner to enter telecom business.

PT&T was reported to have been in talks with the Chinese company for a possible partnership deal.

Bidders for the third telco slot are required to cover at least 10 percent of the national population in the first year of operations.

The terms of reference follow the “highest committed level of service,” which was chosen over the Department of Finance’s proposal to auction off unassigned frequencies.

The DICT earlier said it was bent on naming the third telco player by December this year, amid criticisms that the timeline is too tight for prospective investors.

Last September, President Rodrigo Duterte gave a December deadline for the government to name the third telco—or else he would decide on which company to pick as the new major player. —VDS, GMA News