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Friday, March 29, 2024

Villar Group drops bid to participate in telco bidding

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Streamtech Systems Technologies Inc. of the Villar Group will no longer participate in the bidding for the country’s third major telecommunications player.    

Prime Asset Ventures Inc. chairman Manuel Paolo Villar did not the say the reason for dropping the plan to participate in the bidding, adding the company had instead decided to focus attention on its own expansion plans

“After extensive discussions by management, Streamtech has decided not to proceed with the current bidding for third telco and focus on our internal expansion programs and strategies,” Villar said.

Streamtech is the wholly-owned telecommunication unit of Prime Asset.

Streamtech, which recently obtained a franchise to operate and maintain a telecommunications company for 25 years, was one of the prospective bidders for the third telco.

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Other interested bidders were Converge ICT Solution Inc., Udenna Corp., of Davao-based businessman Dennis Uy, Philippine Telegraph and Telephone, Davao-based TierOne Communications with the Luis Chavit Singson Group of Companies, Norway’s Telenor Group, Now Telecom of businessman Mel Velarde, China Telecommunications Corp. Ltd. and Austria’s Mobiltel Holding GMBH.

Villar’s Streamtech, which applied for a telecom franchise in 2017, earlier said it was interested venturing into telecommunication business initially through fixed broadband services

Villar said the group had a ready market for the planned venture. It had planned to initially offer the fixed broadband service to homebuyers of communities being developed by the family’s Vista Land & Lifescapes Inc.

The Department of Information and Communications Technology earlier set the submission and opening of bid documents on Nov. 7. 

Under the final terms of reference issued by National Telecommunications Commission and the DICT, potential bidders will be chosen based on the highest committed level of service for over five years.

The three criteria are national population coverage with a weight of 40 percent; minimum average broadband speed, 25 percent; and capital and operating expenditure, 35 percent.

A potential bidder should have secured a Congressional franchise and a paid capital of at least P10 billion. The participant or one of its members should have an experience in the provisioning, delivery and operations of telecommunications services for the last 10 years on a national scale. 

The new player is expected to invest a minimum of P40 billion in the first year and P240 billion in five years.

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