General International Telecom reiterates interest in becoming Panama's 3rd telco

Panamanian public services regulator Asep announced that General International Telecom Panamá (Gitpan) has reiterated its interest in becoming the third mobile operator in the country, after the second pre-qualification round in the bidding process for Digicel's license and assets.

In the first call for offers, General International Telecom, the only bidder, failed to submit certain key documents, including information on its financial results and solvency, but it has now supplied the missing information requested by the evaluation committee.

In the second round, it was the only company interested once again.

Once the final review stage is completed by the committee, Asep will be fully authorized to request the cabinet council's approval to directly negotiate the concession contract with the company.

If the process is completed successfully, General International Partners will obtain a concession in the 1,900MHz and 700MHz bands, as well as a network of more than 700 sites and coverage of 80% of the population.

Digicel will continue its operations until the new operator is in place and will also support the new company in the transition process.