NTC awaits bid guidelines for CURE’s 3G license

MANILA, Philippines - The state-run National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) is still awaiting the response from the Government Procurement Policy Board on how to deal with the bidding of the third generation (3G) license of Connectivity Unlimited Resources Enterprise (CURE) surrendered by Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT).

NTC commissioner Gamaliel Cordoba said in an interview with reporters that the GPPB has yet to issue the guidelines on how to auction the 3G license that is owned by a private entity and not the government.

“This is the first time that the asset to be auctioned is not owned by the government but by a private entity,” Cordoba stressed.

The PLDT Group surrendered the 3G frequency of CURE being used by its wireless arm Smart Communications Inc. to NTC in the middle of last year.

It would be recalled that Smart acquired CURE from former trade minister Roberto Ongpin in 2008 for a total consideration of P419.54 million. It invested P1 billion in CURE after acquiring it from the Ongpin group.

The divestment of CURE’s 10 megahertz 3G frequency was one of the conditions set by the NTC in approving the sale of the 51.55-percent stake in Digitel of businessman John L. Gokongwei Jr. to the PLDT group for P69.2 billion in 2011.

The PLDT Group wants to recover P2.215 billion from the sale of CURE’s 3G frequency.

The PLDT Group has officially agreed to apply Rule 32 of the Rules of Court in connection with the inclusion of associated funding cost as one of the components of the CRA to abbreviate the proceedings.

In January, NTC decided to consult independent auditors to determine the value of the 3G license that continued to delay the auction amid the completion of the Terms of Reference (TOR).