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| Converge Quits PH's Third Telco Race |
Converge – together with KT Corp and Teltech – has released its official statement, revealing that they have decided not to bid in the NMP program. Despite of its initial action to bid, the company suddenly changed its mind as it concluded that “the conditions imposed for participation render the venture commercially unviable.” Nevertheless, they believed that the market and industry outlook were financially sustainable.
Converge seemed to question NTC’s rule of requiring the NMP player to acquire an “inordinate amount of funds and carry out commitments.” The company claimed that current dominant network players aren’t required to meet this demand.
“Moreover, a failure to comply is subject to penalties that are not even graduated to consider substantial compliance. For example, the conditions do not provide for a justified delay, even if the committed pace of infrastructure installation is delayed of a refusal by the LGU to issue permits. In contrast, the current players were not subjected to comparative commitments nor penalties nor forfeitures of licenses,” Converge addressed.
See Also: Converge to Complete Nationwide Rollout by 2021!
Meanwhile, according to a report, Converge has expressed its interest to deal with the winning bidder since they already have the infrastructure.
“Still, Converge, KT Corporation and Teltech is encouraged by the current aggressive objective of the government to establish a competitive environment and look forward to participating if another opportunity arises.”
With this, the 3rd telco race is now down to three bidders, including PT&T, LCS-TierOne of Chavit Singson, and Mislatel of Udenna Corp and China Telecom.
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