THE consortium of Dennis Uy-led Udenna Corp. and foreign partner China Telecommunications is the provisional third major player in the industry, the state-run regulator said on Wednesday.

The firm emerged with highest committed level of services or HCLoS based on national coverage, internet speed, and capital expenditures, which the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) used to determine the winning bidder .

The consortium hopes to challenge the decades-long duopoly of Globe Telecoms and PLDT.





Only three out of the 10 firms that bought the P1-million selection documents appeared at the NTC office in Quezon City and expressed interest in becoming the third major telco player.

The other two were the Chavit Singson-backed LCS-TierOne group or Sear consortium and PT&T, which submitted a bid as a single entity.

The Sear consortium failed to qualify because it did not put up the required P700-million participation security while PT&T did not secure a certification of its 10-year technical experience on a national scale.

Acting Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Secretary Eliseo Rio, Jr. said the winning bidder should submit all data to the NTC and has 90 days to submit its organizational structure.

Rio said the NTC would automatically hand over the slot to the second highest bidder if the winning consortium fails to submit its organizational chart.