MISLATEL IS PROVISIONAL 3RD TELCO
Bids of Sears Telecoms and Philippine Telegraph and Telephone Company were disqualified for lack of requirements
Mislatel Consortium, a partnership between China Telecommunications Corp. and Davao businessman Dennis Uy’s Chelsea Logistics Holdings Corp., was declared the provisional third major player in the telecommunications industry within three calendar days.
The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) said Mislatel will go through document verification.
It was not clear how a motion for reconsideration that two other bidders are set to file within three days would affect the selection of Mislatel.
Sears Telecoms-Tier1 Consortium, which includes the LCS Group of Companies of Ilocos businessman and politician Luis “Chavit” Singson, was disqualified for failure to submit the P700-million participation security.
The Philippine Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (PT&T) was disqualified for failing to submit a Certification of Technical Capability from the NTC, which requires bidders to have 10 years’ experience as telecommunications provider on a national scale.
Mislatel was the only bidder that underwent detailed evaluation on Wednesday, Nov.7, at the NTC. At the end of the day, the selection committee declared it as the provisional new major player (NMP).
The committee said Mislatel earned the final bid rating of 456.80 points.
The group vowed to provide a minimum internet speed of 5 mbps (megabits per second) and maximum of 55 mbps in the next five years.
Acting Information and Communications Technology Secretary Eliseo Rio Jr. said Mislatel’s selection is good for the country.
“The purpose of selecting a third player is to come up with a viable competitor to Globe and Smart.” he said.
“The reason why Globe and Smart are surviving right now is
because of their foreign partners. The foreign partner is really very important for a telco to operate in the Philippines,” he added.
Rio said the rejection of the two telecommunication companies’ bids was not the government’s fault.
“It’s not the government’s fault that only a lone contender was left. They satisfied the requirements, that’s why they passed the process. The losers will call the process everything, but I think it is still valid and successful,” Rio said.
Under the guidelines for the selection process, the two other bidders have three calendar days within which to file a motion for reconsideration. Representatives of both groups have signified their intention to file such motion.
The third major telecommunications player was selected nearly two months after President Rodrigo Duterte insisted that the new player should be picked by late October or early November this year.
Duterte has wanted a new telecommunications player to break the duopoly of Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT) and Globe Telecom Inc.
In November 2017, Duterte offered China to enter the telecommunications sector and challenge the dominance of PLDT and Globe.
On April 6, Duterte signed Administrative Order 11, creating an oversight committee that would ensure that the selection of the new telecommunications player will be done in an “integrated and transparent manner.” /
In the event that the consortium is confirmed as the NMP (new major player), its immediate priority will be to prepare and to consolidate all the required resources in order to provide the best telecommunications services that Filipinos have been aspiring for. MISLATEL CONSORTIUM