The deadline has passed for expressions of interest in the City of Sydney’s coveted outdoor advertising contract, and it seems telecommunications companies are keen to get involved.

Interested parties had until yesterday to flag their interest in the contract, after the council issued a tender notice on its website late last year.

The contract – expected to be up to 15 years long and worth roughly $500 million (according to Fairfax) – encompasses street furniture, out-of-home (OOH) media services and free public WiFi.

JC Decaux has held the contract – originally signed as a joint venture with Manboom – since 1997, and it’s being speculated that it is making a joint submission with Telstra.

It wouldn’t be surprising if the two companies joined forces to try and claim the City of Sydney tender, as they’ve already been working on an OOH project together that includes a WiFi component.

A City of Sydney spokesman told Fairfax it had received 12 expressions of interest in the contract “from a range of Australian and international companies”.

APN Outdoor and oOh!media have confirmed their interest, while Adshel is also expected to participate in the tender.

The City of Sydney is expected to name the winners of the WiFi and street furniture contracts by the middle of the year, with the new furniture to begin rolling out in 2019, according to Fairfax.