Public Private Partnership

Overview

The Government of the Republic of Marshall Islands (GORMI) intends to procure a private operator to:

• operate for an interim period the existing telecommunications business of the National Telecommunications Authority (NTA);
• during this interim period upgrade the telecommunications systems across the Republic of Marshall Islands (RMI);
• transfer the upgraded long life asset business to a new Government entity which will operate as a wholesale cost-recovery only provider;
• provide long term retail services which enhance the affordability and quality of customer service.

GORMI will conduct a competitive selection process. The winning Proposer will receive the agreed funding to help modernize the RMI telecommunications sector and customer service experience through a public-private partnership contract (PPP contract) with GORMI’s collaborative support.

The successful Proposer will have the benefit of a long-term contract to be the sole supplier of telecommunications services to the Government. During this period GORMI, through a World Bank-supported program, will be significantly expanding digital government services, as well as more generally increasing public demand for and use of broadband services.

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Invitation from Minister Kabua

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Application Process

This is a two-step process. GORMI will run an initial selection process to select the potential Proposers prior to running a formal RFP process

To apply for the initial selection and pre-qualify to become a Proposer, a bidder needs to request the initial selection documents.

Download the Initial Selection Documents

The Initial Selection document below is structured into three broad sections:

• An overview of the opportunity and what the Government is seeking from a new provider
• The application forms and supporting information that the Government is looking to receive from potential bidders so that the Government can make an initial selection of qualified Proposers to proceed with.
• The detailed legal terms of the Initial Selection process as governed by the World Bank’s Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers dated November 2020.

Applying is straight forward:

• Complete the application forms with the required supporting information;
• Review the standard terms and conditions of the process;
• Submit electronically the application forms and required supporting information before the due date – 5pm Majuro time, October 7, 2022.

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Please feel free to reach out to the project team for any queries:

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Current state of the Marshall Islands telecommunications market

• RMI is an island country in the North Pacific, with a GDP of US$244 million as of 2020, according to the World Bank^[1][2] (WB).
• Preliminary information from the 2021 census indicates that the current population is approximately 40,000, with a further estimated 30,000 Marshallese living abroad (mainly in the United States). 
• Located strategically halfway between Hawaii and Asia, RMI has close ties with the United States under the Compact of Free Association. Many Marshallese live, study and work in the United States, and send remittances to family in RMI.
• GDP per capita and average income is quite similar to Fiji, and somewhat higher than Samoa.
• The majority government-owned^[3] National Telecommunications Authority (NTA) is currently the sole provider of telecommunication services in RMI.
• NTA oversees an established telecommunications market with robust international submarine fiberoptic cable connectivity through connection to the HANTRU-1 cable, and arrangements in place for satellite service provision for the more remote islands.
• However, penetration levels for internet and mobile use are far below other similar nations served by international submarine cables and modern satellites, and prices are high.
• The current arrangement is not delivering quality and accessible services to all Marshallese. Rapid improvements in the reach, quality and affordability of connectivity are required.
• Demand for telecommunications services in RMI should increase in the near future as GORMI, with the support of World Bank grant funding, undertakes a program to enable digitization of government and non-government services in the RMI economy.
• The program will involve developing a digital government strategic framework, digital skills initiatives, a digital identification platform, secure government network systems, and implementing selected priority digital services, as well developing an enabling legal and regulatory environment for digital government and a digital economy.

Requirements of new operator

• GORMI is currently seeking an operator to enter into a PPP contract with the preferred operator which will:
  • require the operator to build open access-enabled fiber to the premise (FTTP) networks on Ebeye and Majuro
  • provide a modern solution for mobile and internet access to the neighboring islands
  • set out the required minimum retail service standards
  • define the minimum standards for key anchor products and the maximum price to be charged for those products
  • Set out the minimum environmental and social and employment responsibilities of the new operator

Minimum Criteria

• This opportunity is open to the right partner that can both invest in and appropriately profit from modernizing the RMI telecommunications market
• The selection criteria are summarized as:
  • Experience operating in small Pacific markets: Has over the bidder’s past 3 full financial years:
    • provided mobile and mobile internet retail services in each of at least two legally distinct Pacific Island states or territories,
    • with at least one of those states or territories having a population of less than 150,000 people (referred to as a “small Pacific market”), and
    • the bidder having an end-to-end customer base in at least one small Pacific market of at least 10,000 active customers^[4] in the bidder’s last full financial year.
  • Sufficient operational size:  Has a total end-to-end retail customer base of at least 100,000 active customers^[5] served across the legally distinct Pacific Island states or territories that the Bidder operated within in the bidder’s last full financial year, and the bidder provided both fixed line internet retail services and mobile services in at least one of those states or territories in the bidder’s last full financial year.
  • A track record of reasonable conduct and compliance with laws and regulations: Provide GORMI with sufficient information to demonstrate the bidder:
    • has over the bidder’s past 7 full financial years provided transparent reporting to its shareholders,  provided audited accounts, has not had a history of failing to deliver on contracts or failing to meet employment and other legal obligations in its current jurisdictions of operation; and
    • has not been sanctioned at any time pursuant to the World Bank’s Anti-Corruption Guidelines.^[6]
  • Access to sufficient capital: Audited accounts from the bidder’s latest full financial year and evidence of at least $US 20 million of equity available for investment, or a letter of support from a reputable bank for the equivalent amount of credit in support of the bid.
• See section III – Initial Selection Criteria and Requirements Table 1 of Initial Selection Document for the full detail of the relevant criteria and requirements that need to be satisfied.

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Specific Procurement Notice

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^[1]    World Bank. Marshall Islands Population and GDP data. Available: https://data.worldbank.org/country/marshall-islands. Accessed May 2022

^[2]    Population and GDP figures are estimates. RMI 2021 Census results are yet to be finalized.

^[3]    GORMI owns 81% of the shares in NTA, 66% directly and a further 15% through the Marshall Islands Marine Resources Authority. The other 19% is owned by private minority shareholders. GORMI intends to increase its ownership through a share offer to the private shareholders due to be made in the second half of 2022. GORMI’s large ownership stake ensures that, when needed, the NTA entity can be disestablished.

^[4] The active customer base is measured as a combination of post-paid and pre-paid mobile-cellular telephone subscriptions, fixed telephone subscriptions and fixed broadband subscriptions.

^[5]    The active customer base is measured as a combination of post-paid and pre-paid mobile-cellular telephone subscriptions, fixed telephone subscriptions and fixed broadband subscriptions.

^[6]    This includes not appearing on the World Bank Listing of Ineligible Firms and Individuals tables. Available: https://www.worldbank.org/en/projects-operations/procurement/debarred-firms