MANILA – Converge ICT and its partners, KT Corp and Teltech said Wednesday they decided not to bid for the Philippines' third telco slot.

While the industry outlook is "financially viable," conditions for its participation are "commercially unviable," the 3 firms said in a joint statement.

The prospective third telco is "required to incur an inordinate amount of funds and carry out commitments at a pace that is not required of the current dominant service providers," according to the statement.

Only 3 bids are being scrutinized Wednesday, from Mislatel, the newly-formed consortium of China Telecom and Davao tycoon Dennis Uy, Tier1 backed by former Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis "Chavit" Singson and Philippine Telegraph and Tepehone Corp.

Just in: Pampanga’s Dennis Uy and KT back out of the race. @ABSCBNNews @ANCALERTS pic.twitter.com/SyuUydHMit

— Warren de Guzman (@wddeguzman) November 7, 2018