The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A leading contender for the Bahamas’ second mobile telecommunications licence last night urged the Government to “turn us on”, after it formally launched the bidding process.

Prime Minister Perry Christie, and the Cellular Liberalisation Task Force, yesterday expressed hope that the winning bidder could be selected by April 2015, and start providing services within another six months - by October/November 2015.

Many observers are likely to continue these targets a ‘stretch’, given the Government’s track record - the BEC reform process is almost a year past ‘selection’ date and still not concluded, while it has yet to take a decision on the Windsor water plant contract 15 months after the previous agreement expired.

However, this failed to dampen the enthusiasm of at least one bidder, which has long been waiting for the day when it can attempt to enter the Bahamian communications market’s most lucrative sector and fulfill its ‘quad play’ ambitions.

Anthony Butler, Cable Bahamas’ chief executive, in a statement sent to Tribune Business, effectively confirmed that the BISX-listed operator will be bidding on the licence.

“We at Cable Bahamas are willing, ready and able to help the Bahamas make the next leap in the cellular market,” he said. “We have been preparing for this bid for a long time, and look forward to a transparent and expeditious process in awarding this next license.

“We know what this means to the people of the country and, as a wholly-owned Bahamian company, we understand Bahamian expectations and fully intend to be a frontrunner in this contest.”

Mr Butler added: “Our aim is to submit an application with an innovative solution that is reliable and affordable, with a focus on coverage and applications. We already have a high speed, fibre backbone in place and our goal is to build a service with 100 per cent call connection.

“Basically, we’re ready. Turn us on.”

Edison Sumner, chief executive of Limitless Mobile’s Bahamas operation (the former IP Solutions International), could not be reached for comment last night.

Yet he is likely to be just as delighted that the bidding process has launched, given that his firm has made no secret of its intentions to bid. Another local player is Junkanoo Mobile, fronted by former Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) executive, Franklyn Winder, although little else is known about it.

Other contenders will be regional cellular powerhouse Digicel, and Virgin Mobile. However, Prime Minister Perry Christie has effectively given an advantage to the Bahamian bidders by saying the winner must be majority Bahamian-owned.

This is not made to measure for privately-owned Digicel and its Irish principal, Dennis O’Brien, although there are numerous ways to structure a transaction to ensure compliance with government wishes.

Cable Bahamas is already 100 per cent Bahamian-owned, while Limitless can get there through its promised initial public offering (IPO).

Just in case there was any doubt, the Prime Minister reaffirmed this yesterday, stating: “The process has also been designed to take into account the extent to which the widest base of Bahamians could participate in the ownership of the new provider.”

He added that the Task Force had sought to balance the Bahamian ownership issue with this nation’s trade agreement commitments, and the need to make the licence auction an attractive investment proposition to participants.

Mr Christie said: “The Government is seeking to strike the right balance of optimising the revenue from allocating rights to valuable spectrum, with its broader objectives of promoting competition, investment and innovation in the cellular mobile market.”

Cellular liberalisation has been eagerly awaited in the Bahamas. Apart from ending BTC’s last monopoly, it also holds the potential for offering Bahamian consumers better prices, services and coverage via competition.

Bidders must pay $5,000 for a copy of the Request for Proposal (RFP), and submit questions seeking clarification over the document by December 10.

Phase I bids, on which groups will be evaluated on their financial and technical qualities, must be in by February 11, 2015. Those that meet “the minimum criteria” will then enter the spectrum auction, with the winner getting the highest combined score from both phases.

Mr Christie said: “While my Government recognises BTC’s efforts to continuously modernise their cellular service offerings here in the Bahamas we, nonetheless, consider that in order to enable all Bahamians to benefit from, and participate in, an intensely integrated global economy, it is critical that access to mobile and broadband technology becomes more affordable and accessible to everyone in our society.

“Inevitably, competition in the provision of cellular mobile services will bring the Bahamas another step closer to making these goals reality.”

He added: “There is also a need for improvements in coverage (from Abaco to Inagua), service quality, network redundancy and resilience, the latter of which are particularly important in light of our country’s vulnerability to natural disasters.”

The Task Force is being advised by the Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority (URCA), PricewaterhouseCoopers Bahamas, and the UK-based Charles Russell Speechlys and Hogan Lovells law firm.

Also involved is Mark Sills, trade consultant to the Government.