The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A cellular licence contender yesterday said it “brought the best of both worlds” via its combination of Bahamian and international ties, expressing hope it would soon see “the fruits” of seven years’ work.

Edison Sumner, chief executive of Limitless Communications (Bahamas), told Tribune Business that the company would seek to “leverage” its majority owner’s connections and strength to obtain better pricing, technology and network infrastructure if it won the bid.

Mr Sumner, who said the company had been preparing for cellular liberalisation ever since its founding as IP Solutions International seven years since, added that the partnership with Limitless made it “best suited” to become the Bahamas Telecommunications Company’s (BTC) first mobile competitor.

Other bidders were also quick to react to the Government’s launching of the Request for Proposal (RFP) for this nation’s second cellular licence.

A spokesperson for Digicel, the regional cellular giant, which has been keen to enter the Bahamas for more than a decade, confirmed it “remained interested” in acquiring the licence.

She stopped short, though, of giving a cast-iron guarantee that Digicel would bid.

“We are, of course, always keen to bring our special brand of best value, best service and best network complete communications to more places,” the spokesperson said in a written statement issued in response to Tribune Business’s inquiries.

“We remain interested in the opportunity in the Bahamas, and will review the RFP process and determine our course of action from there.”

This suggests Digicel will certainly pay the $5,000 to obtain a copy of the RFP package.

However, the spokesperson did not respond to Tribune Business’s question on whether it would be able to meet the Government’s requirement for the winning bidder to be majority Bahamian-owned.

Prime Minister Perry Christie divulged this condition during a Tuesday address to the Bahamas Institute of Chartered Accountants (BICA) conference, when he said the successful bidder must be at least 51 per cent Bahamian owned.

This may create problems for Digicel, which has a tightly-held private ownership structure, headed by its principal, Irishman Denis O’Brien. The company has never adopted the ownership structure sought by the Christie administration in any of the markets it has entered.

Mr Sumner, though, said Limitless Communications (Bahamas) was “not averse” to the Government’s ownership demands.

While the company is currently majority foreign-owned, it has made no secret of its plans for an initial public offering (IPO) to Bahamian investors should it win the bid.

“We bring the best of both worlds,” Mr Sumner told Tribune Business, referring to the ‘strategic alliance’ and international partnership elements that Limitless brought to the table, combined with the company’s Bahamian roots.

Mr Sumner said the bid would seek to “leverage” Limitless’s strength to “offer better prices, service, technology and networks” in the Bahamas.

He added that the benefits, should Limitless Communications (Bahamas) win, would go beyond an IPO to work outsourcing and partnerships with other Bahamian companies.

“We are quite prepared to move very quickly once we know the results of that licence, and we’re hoping it’s going to be us,” Mr Sumner told Tribune Business.

“We think we are best suited. We understand the process, respect the process, and look forward to being participants in the process and getting applications into the Government before the deadline expires.”

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.

The Government is aiming to select the winning bidder by April 2015, and hoping that they can launch services by October/November 2015. Nationwide coverage is the ultimate hope.

Mr Sumner described the process outlined by the Government as “fair and reasonable”, although conceding that he had thought the bidding field might have been whittled down at an earlier stage.

Implying that he had anticipated the Government distinguishing between those bids that met the necessary criteria, and those that did not, he said: “My personal anticipation was they would have looked at the strength of those expressing interest to-date, and made an early assessment of how to proceed, but I do understand they have to show fairness and equity to those interested in the process.”

Mr Sumner said Limitless Communications (Bahamas) was “very ready” for the cellular liberalisation, he personally having started work on building IP Solutions International, its network and business model, from 2007.

“We’ve been working at this for quite a while, and will hopefully see the fruits of our labour,” he told Tribune Business.

Other Bahamian bidders who have declared are Cable Bahamas and Junkanoo Mobile.