(Telecompaper) Mexico has received its first bid from a consortium to build a USD 10 billion state-owned mobile network. Alcatel-Lucent and Ericsson helped the consortium craft the proposal submitted to the government, four sources told Reuters. The government, which estimates that the network will require an investment of about USD 10 billion over 10 years, wants to pick a winner in mid-2015, two sources said. A spokesman for Mexico's telecommunications and transport ministry (SCT) confirmed that it had received a proposal. Alcatel-Lucent declined to comment, and Ericsson did not respond to a request for comment. The submission of the first bid, ahead of a government tender, is a major step in Mexico's effort to inject competition into the market. If successful, the state-owned network would help carriers to compete with market leader America Movil, by giving them better coverage without having to bear the cost of building the network. Other companies interested in building Mexico's new network include Huawei, which has had several meetings with government officials on the topic, one source said.