Game of Telcos: MyRepublic, TPG Telecom, and AirYotta officially submit bids to be fourth telco

The IDA will announce the winning bid by October.

The shake-up for Singapore’s telco triumvirate is finally nearing as three aspiring telcos have solidified their claims for the fourth telco incumbent seat.

According to a report by OCBC, the IDA has received bids from MyRepublic, Australian telco TPG Telecom, and recently incorporated AirYotta.

However, OMGTel unexpectedly did not submit its bid.

“AirYotta is led by CEO, Michael DeNoma, and CTO, Philip Heah, both previously from OMGTel. According to Edge Singapore, AirYotta is backed by a regulated, fully-financed fund, which is supported by a single investor,” the report noted.

The Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore will announce the winning bid by mid-October and had said previously it would consider applicants’ track records among many other criteria before allowing their participation in the upcoming spectrum auction, OCBC added.

Meanwhile, in the event that the IDA does award a license to a fourth operator, OCBC said Singtel will be the least impacted on the back of diversified revenue base and established enterprise business.

“Impact on Starhub will be partly mitigated by its enterprise business and TV bundling options, while M1 will likely be most impacted given the lack of such business segments,” OCBC said.