Udenna-China Tel consortium lone bidder to qualify for third telco

Mislatel Consortium of Davao-based businessman Dennis Uy and China Telecommunications Corp. was the lone bidder to qualify and proceed to the next phase of screening by the National Telecommunications Commission for the third major player in the telecom industry.

“The first submission package of Udenna Corp. is qualified to proceed with the selection process ... Will now be subjected to detailed evaluation,” NTC Selection Committee Chair Ella Lopez said Wednesday.

Uy is one of President Rodrigo Duterte’s significant campaign contributors in the 2016 presidential race.

According to his statement of contributions and expenditures, Uy contributed P30 million to Duterte’s campaign for the 2016 presidential elections.

Uy is also the president, CEO and director of Phoenix Petroleum Corp.

Mislatel Consortium is a joint venture of Uy’s Udenna Corp., its subsidiary Chelsea Logistics Holdings Corp., and Chinese state-owned China Telecommunications Corp.

Two other groups submitted bids for the third telco slot on Wednesday, TierOne and Chavit Singson-led LCS Group of Companies, and the Philippine Telegraph and Telephone Corp. (PT&T).

The Singson-led consortium was disqualified for not submitting the “Participation Security” of P700 million.

PT&T was disqualified for not  having a Certificate of Technical Capability.

China Telecom’s plan to enter the Philippine market was announced by Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar in December 2017. 

LCS-TierOne Consortium and PT&T are filing a motion for reconsideration (MR) within three days.

The bidding system approved by the government takes into consideration the highest committed level of service (HCLOS) of the third telco aspirant.

The HCLOS model involves a point system covering speed, coverage, and capital and operational expenditures.

Aside from the three firms that submitted selection documents on Wednesday, other firms which earlier bought bid documents include AMA Telecommunications, Converge, Mobitel Holdings GmbH, NOW Telecom, Telenor ASA Group, and Streamtech.

The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) last week said it expects a “provisional” third telco player by November 7. —VDS, GMA News