042306: Smart unveils new brand for broadband service

Smart unveils new brand for broadband service
By Mary Ann Ll. Reyes
The Philippine Star 04/23/2006

Leading wireless services provider Smart Communications unveiled 'Smart Bro', the new brand for its wireless broadband offering, marking a move from its earlier Smart WiFi brand.

Parent firm Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) will also be reselling Smart Bro in place of myDSL-W, its similar wireless broadband service brand. Starting April 23, customers who avail of the Smart Bro service will enjoy new promotional bundles.

Sales and customer service processes are also being upgraded to improve the customer experience. Officials said the launch of Smart Bro underscores the strategy of the PLDT group to provide its customers with the widest range of broadband connectivity solutions and establish its leadership in the broadband market nationwide.

"We've combined the latest wireless broadband technology with the extensive network infrastructure of PLDT and Smart. Together with our fixed broadband offerings through PLDT's DSL service and our mobile broadband service with Smart 3G, Smart Bro will hasten the time when broadband becomes a basic communications service," Smart and PLDT president and CEO Napoleon Nazareno said.

Since it was introduced nationwide in September last year, wireless broadband has provided a welcome boost for Internet usage in the Philippines where Internet penetration is only 5.3 percent.

"The uptake in the service is most apparent in rural areas where information and communications technology infrastructure has been lacking," Nazareno observed.

Numbering over 25,000 by yearend 2005, wireless broadband subscribers accounted for 22 percent of the total number of broadband subscribers of PLDT and Smart. Broadband capacity and subscribers have been doubling every year since 2002 and by end-2005, the number of broadband users of the PLDT Group more than doubled to 114,000 from 48,000 as of end-2004.

To further raise service quality levels, Smart is currently improving network facilities by deploying advanced radio base stations and terminal equipment and installing upgraded routers. It is also expanding the wireless broadband network's core transmission backbone capacity up to 10 gigabytes per second (Gbps) and its regional backbone capacity to one Gbps.

International transmission capacity has also been increased significantly to further improve access to servers overseas. Smart also announced that it is improving the customer service systems and processes that handle queries regarding the wireless broadband service.

The number of call center seats dedicated to broadband customers has been increased to 370. Smart has been able to rapidly roll out the service even in far-flung areas because it integrated many portions of the wireless broadband network with its existing GSM cellular network.

Smart Bro is a "fixed wireless solution" to provide broadband Internet access. It rides on the nationwide cellular network of Smart to wirelessly deliver broadband Internet service to a subscriber's personal computer, eliminating the need for a physical cable or phone line. The "wireless" connection is established from a wireless broadband radio base station at the nearest Smart cell site to the subscriber's home via a Smart Bro antenna.

Cables connect the antenna to the subscriber's PC. To enjoy the strongest possible high speed Internet connection, the subscriber's antenna must have a clear "line-of-sight" alignment and be within a 1.5-km. radius from a Smart cell site.

"The service brings broadband Internet to places that in the past were beyond the reach of the world wide web. Hopefully, broadband will open up new opportunities for businesses, education, and e-government all over the country," Nazareno said.

Initially, Smart Bro is available at one package at P999 monthly, VAT inclusive. Subscribers will need a PC with Pentium II or higher, 128 MB RAM or higher (preferable 256 MB RAM), Ethernet/ LAN Card, at least 10GB of hard disk space and operating system of Windows 98, 2000, XP, Linux or Macintosh OS.

 

http://www.philstar.com/philstar/NEWS200604230704.htm

0422:06 Paxys net up on call-center demand

Manila Times
April 22, 2006

 

Saturday, April 22, 2006

Paxys net up on call-center demand

HIGH demand for its services boosted the profits of the Philippines' only publicly listed call-center company. In a report to the Securities and Exchange Commission, Paxys Inc. said its earnings rose 176 percent to P339 million last year, indicating the profitability of the local industry. Operating profit was also up 132.33 percent to P522.17 million. This was mainly due to service income, which increased 115 percent to P1.4 billion last year. "The increase in service income is also attributable to additional services and promotions of a local client that requires additional number of seats and to the increase in production of old clients. From 800 seats beginning 2004, ACS ended the year 2005 with 3,000 seats," the company said, referring to its unit Advanced Contact Solutions, which is engaged in the call-center business. Gross profit for the year increased 104 percent while its gross profit margin was slightly lower at 44 percent from 46 percent in 2004. The company said the decline was due to salary restructuring, an increase in employee benefits, more depreciation on equipment related to expansion, allocation of overhead to cost of services and additional expenses incurred to improve quality of service and good working condition for employees. "The company spent substantial amount of training cost in the second quarter of the year for the training activities that were conducted for the new work programs," the company added. Paxys put up the ACS Training Academy where agents can acquire new skills that may assist in their career development and could improve the quality of service they are providing to their customers. Late in 2004 the company also put up an employee care center, which has Internet stations, billiards and dartboards, videoke rooms and massage and sleeping rooms for the use of employees. On November 3 the company launched a grant program for executives and key employees amounting to P11.87 million. This was taken up as an expense last year. The marketing expense amounting to P17 million was substantially higher than the P3 million incurred in 2004. This was due to the company's effort to leverage its organization by reaching out to other markets such as United Kingdom, Australia and Asia. Interest expense for the amounted to P29 million, a 286-percent increase over the same period last year. This was due to interest on the new loans from local banks and an increase in interest rates on dollar-denominated obligations. --Cai U. Ordinario

 

http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2006/apr/22/yehey/business/20060422bus4.html

042106: Google results outpace estimates, shares jump 8%

Google results outpace estimates, shares jump 8%

April 21, 2006
Updated 09:03am (Mla time)
Eric Auchard
Reuters

SAN FRANCISCO -- Web search leader Google Inc. on Wednesday returned to form by beating Wall Street expectations with a 79-percent jump in revenue tied to taking market share gains from rivals such as Yahoo Inc.

Google, recovering from a series of recent stumbles, saw its shares jump 8 percent after it reported net income of 592 million dollars, or 1.95 dollars per diluted share, up 60 percent from the year-earlier quarter's 372 million dollars, or 1.29 dollars per share.

Spectacular gains in the stock occurred after its initial public offering in 2004, based on a track record of outpacing Wall Street forecasts. But weak growth in Britain late last year led to its first disappointing quarter and shares fell.

Revenue rose to 2.25 billion dollars -- slightly above Wall Street forecasts, which ranged from 2.05 billion to 2.24 billion dollars, according to Reuters Estimates. Revenue included 723 million dollars in traffic acquisition costs, the cut affiliated Web sites take for running Google advertising on their own sites.

"We know that we gained [market] share on an absolute basis," Chief Executive Eric Schmidt said in a telephone interview. "It looks like we gained share faster than all others," he said of industry research figures for the US search market.

"Net revenue is very solid," said Martin Pyykkonen, an analyst at Hoefer & Arnett. "It's also proof Google continues to gain market share on Yahoo on paid search."

"They're still spending pretty heftily on marketing expenses but strategically it's the right thing to do and the underlying reason why revenue growth was so strong."

Excluding one-time items, the Mountain View, California-based company reported a profit of 2.29 dollars a share.

The first-quarter net profit includes charges of 115 million dollars for stock-based compensation, and to cover legal fees of 30 million dollars to settle a lawsuit that concerned the abuse of Google's pay-per-click advertising system by outside parties. These were partly offset by tax benefits of 39 million dollars.

Excluding one-time items and stock-based compensation, Wall Street analysts were looking for a consensus profit of 1.98 dollars per share. Including these items, net profit, on average, was expected to be 1.73 dollars a share, according to Reuters Estimates.

Shares of Google, the world's largest Web search supplier, jumped to 448.31 dollars in after-hours trade, adding to a 1.1-percent gain in regular trading on Nasdaq ahead of the report.

Schmidt reiterated that the second and third quarters traditionally grow slower than its first and fourth periods.

He also said the company is making progress in diversifying its base of revenue beyond pay-per-click advertising that now accounts for around 97 percent of revenue.

Radio advertising is set to "explode," he said, and the company plans to expand its a program in Japan to deliver text ads to mobile phone users around the world. Local advertising, the biggest potential market, will take longer to develop.

Goldman Sachs analyst Anthony Noto said in a preliminary note to clients that Google's results imply his forecast for 53-percent 2006 revenue growth "may be too conservative." Analysts, on average, predict 56-percent growth in 2006.

"[Estimates] will likely go higher based on first quarter outperformance versus expectations but may be partially offset by higher capex, [capital expenditure] which is now expected to grow materially faster than [revenue]," he said.

During the first quarter, Google spent 345 million dollars on computers and real estate. For 2005 as a whole, Google spent 838 million dollars, up 163 percent from 319 million dollars in 2004.

Noto said his profit forecasts support a valuation of between 515 and 530 dollars a share.

Google's share price suffered a dramatic fall three months ago when it missed Wall Street profit targets for the first time. The stock dropped to a low of nearly 330 dollars last month.

In recent weeks, however, investor sentiment has recovered and the stock was trading at roughly break-even for the year ahead of the quarterly results. Following the results, it is nearly 8 percent up year-to date. It had hit a peak in January of nearly 472 dollars.

Google had 49 percent of US searches conducted on its sites, according to recent data from Internet measurement firm Nielsen//NetRatings. Yahoo! remained in second place with 22.5 percent, while MSN ranked third with 10.9 percent.

Globally, Google's share of Web search is estimated by comScore Networks and Piper Jaffray to be above 60 percent.

 

Additional reporting by Michael Kahn in San Francisco, and Sue Zeidler and Gina Keating in Los Angeles

http://news.inq7.net/express/html_output/20060421-73261.xml.html

042006: PLDT IT unit confirms acquisition

Thursday April 20, 2006 | MANILA, PHILIPPINES

News

PLDT IT unit confirms acquisition

The subsidiary of telecommunications giant Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT) yesterday confirmed plans to acquire a 20% stake in online gaming firm Philweb Corp.

In a letter to the stock exchange, PLDT assistant corporate secretary Florentino D. Mabasa, Jr. said the board of directors of ePLDT, the company's technology arm, approved the said investment in Philweb in a meeting last Monday.

"ePLDT, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Philippine Long Distance and Telephone Company, confirms that it will invest in new common shares of Philweb Corporation equivalent to 20% of its outstanding common stock," Mr. Mabasa said.

He said ePLDT, Inc. and Philweb are finalizing the terms of investment, and subscription agreements -- including the final amount of the shares, and the final price of the sale -- before closing the deal.

In a separate filing, Philweb vice-president Sonia C. Veras also confirmed the deal.

Philweb, owned by the group led by former trade secretary Roberto Ongpin, is into internet gaming. It has received license from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. to operate Internet Sports Betting and Internet Casino. -- J. O. Valisno

http://www.itmatters.com.ph/news.php?id=042006a

042006: Call center staff trained to be entrepreneurs

i.t. matters
Thursday April 20, 2006 | MANILA, PHILIPPINES

News

Call center staff trained to be entrepreneurs

Davao City -- A call center training center is partnering with a US-based foundation to train applicants who might even eventually set up their own centers.

Joji Ilagan-Bian, JIB e-Academy president, said her company is partnering with the John F. Kennedy Center for the implementation of the project which will not only train applicants on English proficiency but also how to become entrepreneurs.

"Our philosophy is that we train them, we employ them and they eventually become entrepreneurs," Ms. Bian said.

The John F. Kennedy Center will also help her company in marketing in the US since some companies in the US are looking for small call centers for their needs, she added.

Opening on May 15, the e-Academy will serve as the training center for call center agents, and those who will finish their course will be employed in a call center which Ms. Bian is also setting up. At the start, Ms. Bian said she is just eyeing 20 seats but she envisions this to grow to 200 seats in the next six months.

"Our concept is we will sell the idea that even SMEs (small- and medium-scale enterprises) can become call centers. The trainees can even pool their resources and set up their call centers with at least four seats," she said.

Part of the concept is for Ms. Bian's company to host smaller call centers. -- C. Q. Francisco

 

041809: Use technology as 'enabler,' banks urged

i.t. matters
Tuesday April 18, 2006 | MANILA, PHILIPPINES

News

Use technology as 'enabler,' banks urged

It's a fact that information technology (IT) is no longer the domain of just computer scientists or engineers.

Now that IT can spell the difference among competing companies, it has become imperative for company owners, chief executive officers, and managers to be more involved in the formulation of their businesses' IT strategies.

This is probably most helpful and applicable to banks, given that the marketplace has become increasingly competitive and regulated.

A bank therefore needs a clearer strategic level of understanding as to how it can maintain its edge over the competition while creating cost-efficient and effective workflow processes.

Banks should look at IT as an "enabler, that is, a tool that will enable you to do a better, more effective, and efficient business," said Lim Eng Hong, managing principal for risk management consulting of Atos Origin, in an interview with BusinessWorld.

Atos Origin, a leading international IT services provider, provides integrated design, build, and operate solutions to large multinational clients in carefully targeted industries.

Mr. Lim pointed out that banks' internal processes are finding it more difficult to keep up with increasingly stringent regulations because of data requirements. Drawing out historical data and detailed customer information quickly from diversified systems and manual records is a challenge that every bank needs to face.

"When you think about risk management, the biggest problem today is data. Data is everywhere -- operational data, data of the customers, data of the transaction, but how do you pool all these together so you will have single view of this customer?" Mr. Lim said.

Mr. Lim's areas of expertise include enterprise-wide risk management, mergers and acquisitions, operational risk, customer value management, economic risk capital allocation, and regulatory risk management.

"In a bank, you need to understand your own customer, [such as] how much this customer is giving you in terms of revenue. Should I cater something very specific for him? [The choice is] either [you] grow this customer or ignore him," he explained.

"If I am a manager, I should know your risk profile and risk appetite and what you are interested in so I can introduce you to specific bank products," Mr. Lim added.

There should be a structure that captures this information, Mr. Lim said. "IT becomes an important tool to make the right decision. A bank should be able to know how to rate its customers, whether good or bad."

IT, he said, could help a bank execute better cross-selling strategies that identify its most valuable customers and customize products and services.

IT also plays a crucial role in enhancing banks' capabilities for risk and finance management to comply with the growing number of global regulatory requirements like the so-called Basel 2.

The latest accord, "the second regulatory change to the global financial sector since the original Basel Accord in 1988," outlines global rules on how banks should operate and calls for an improvement in corporate governance following accounting scandals such as those involving energy firm Enron and WorldCom.

"Basel 2 is all about knowing your own set of customers. You determine the risk you want to take," Mr. Lim said.

Businesses should begin changing the way they handle regulatory compliance, he said. "Banks in the Philippines and in the entire Asia should not look at compliance as a chore. That has to change because compliance is no longer just a one-off thing, it will always be there, in fact it will always increase so if you do not put it as part of your business strategy, then you will always be struggling," Mr. Lim said.

He added, "Compliance is good for transparency. So it is good for my brand, customers will be more confident in me and will invest more into buying my products. If you look at it from that way, you will use technology to achieve your aims rather than use it as a way to mitigate regulatory impacts."

Mr. Lim, however, stressed that companies need not always use the latest and most modern technology. Banks only have to "maximize" what they have already put in place. They need to determine "how effective IT is being used in their businesses." IT must be linked to business objectives like "how much the business plans to generate," he said.

"The problem today, looking from a technological perspective, people always want the latest technology. It looks good but in the end does it really serve what the business does? Technology people want the best while business people say, we want it fast," Mr. Lim said.

"Business drives technology, business uses technology as an enabler to make them more effective. Don't work for technology but let the technology work for you." -- Karen L. Lema

 

041909: Website aims to promote Filipino identity

This story was taken from www.inq7.net

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http://news.inq7.net/infotech/index.php?index=1&story_id=72930

Website aims to promote Filipino identity
First posted 05:10pm (Mla time) April 19, 2006
By Erwin Lemuel Oliva
INQ7.net

FILIPINOS who belong to an Internet-based community have decided to formally launch a website that aims to "recover, nurture and advance" the Filipino identify, INQ7.net learned on Wednesday. Titled "Ang Bagong Pinoy" (The new Filipino), the website (angbagongpinoy.org) was started by Boogie Boydon as an online community on April 9, 2005. Boydon, also a founder of a similar newsgroup, said he had been reflecting on the seemingly apathetic mentality of Filipino students towards the country, noting that Filipinos now plan their future away from their homeland amidst a general feeling of hopelessness and despair. "This feeling of despair was further reinforced by the realization that it is already a generation since the fateful revolution of EDSA I and yet we seem to have the same dismal situation, if not even worse, that we had 20 years ago," the IT consultant and educator wrote in the group's website. Ang Bagong Pinoy hopes to provide a venue for collective interaction that could lead to progress. "The mission of ABP is to build a better Philippines, one Filipino at a time," it said. Boydon said that the Ang Bagong Pinoy website also aims to promote good citizenship and inspire Filipinos to love and appreciate their roots and cultural heritage. "That online community is now ready to bring the fruits of their efforts to the larger community of Filipinos," he added. The website will be formally launched on April 22, 2006 at the Asia Pacific College in Makati City.

 

http://news.inq7.net/infotech/index.php?index=1&story_id=72930

 

041906: Study says Internet to surpass all other media

This story was taken from www.inq7.net

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http://news.inq7.net/infotech/index.php?index=1&story_id=72951

Study says Internet to surpass all other media
First posted 09:02pm (Mla time) April 19, 2006
By Leo Magno
INQ7.net

Consumers will pay more for Internet content than for content coming from any other medium, according to a study by PriceWaterhouse Coopers. Television is still the medium which enjoys the most revenues coming from consumers. This was true in 1998 and continued to be so by the end of 2005, according to the study. Internet access was a close second, coming from a little more than a billion dollars in 1998 to more than 2 billion in 2005. Books came in third, while film came in fourth with a sharp increase. Newspapers came in fifth, recorded music sixth, magazines seventh, video games eighth and radio came in at ninth. There was a noticeable flatline for books, newspapers, magazines, recorded music and radio from 1998 to 2005 in terms of consumer spending. Film, TV and video games showed sharp increases, with the Internet showing the sharpest rise. "In the next few years, people will pay more for Internet content than for any other medium, including TV," said James Johnson, vice president for mobility at Intel, who cited the PriceWaterhouse Coopers study at the Intel Developer Forum. "This is because people are also using the Internet for TV, video and personal content." Johnson added that the number of audio and video files being downloaded from the Internet more than quadrupled in the last 24 months. Johnson cited a December, 2005 study by Legg Mason which showed that audio and video file transfers jumped from about 500 million in 2003 to more than 2 billion at the end of 2005. "There is a whole new generation growing up without buying music CDs and movie DVDs," he said. "There is a whole new generation getting content from the web. The web suddenly went video." As promising as the data cited seem to be, Johnson also cited problems which might hamper this growth. "First, no one has broadband. Second, the Internet isn't mobile," he said. Johnson cited studies by the International Data Corp. and other research companies which show that only 250 million people worldwide have broadband connections, out of one billion who are already on the Internet. Comparatively, 1.5 billion people have TV, 1.9 billion have cellular phones and 2 billion have radios. He added that wireless and mobile broadband is still at its infancy, with few people effectively getting Internet content from their handhelds or cellular phones. Intel is trying to solve this problem, Johnson said, by introducing high-performance but energy efficient processors for mobile devices.

 

http://news.inq7.net/infotech/index.php?index=1&story_id=72951

 

041906: GlobeQuest expands Wi-Fi reach

i.t. matters
Wednesday April 19, 2006 | MANILA, PHILIPPINES

News

GlobeQuest expands Wi-Fi reach

GlobeQUEST, the corporate business group of Innove Communications, has clinched four new domestic and international roaming partnership deals, aimed to further widen the reach of its wireless internet offer.

For the domestic market, Globe QUEST partnered with internet service provider (ISP) Pacific Internet. Postpaid subscribers of Pacific Internet will now have access to WiFi in all of GlobeQUEST's WiZ hotspots in the country using the same username and password.

For the international market, GlobeQUEST has signed up with three Wi-Fi network aggregators, namely BOINGO Wireless, Inc. iPass and Deutsche Telekom (DT).

As a result, GlobeQUEST will now have access to the markets being covered by the three aggregators. Subscribers of all foreign networks under the three aggregators can now tap the GlobeQUEST Wi-Fi service while they are here in the country and so as GlobeQUEST subscribers whenever they are abroad.

Jesus C. Romero, GlobeQUEST head, said the company expects to feel the take up in foreign subscribers in the next two to three months.

"We don't have a breakdown yet of domestic and foreign subscribers. But anecdotal evidence shows that a lot of foreigners in hotels and restaurants are using our service," he said.

iPass has integrated over 300 network providers covering over 60,000 access points worldwide including more than 35,000 Wi-Fi hotspot and ethernet hotel broad-band locations in about 60 countries.

US-based BOINGO has over 20,000 hotspots and provides high-speed internet service to individual end-users and wireless access service providers who intend to resell their Wi-Fi services.

DT, Europe's largest telecommunications company, connects Wi-Fi providers and hotspot operators from over 20 countries. Mr. Romero said these roaming agreements make the company the "most convenient Wi-Fi service provider" in the country. -- M. E. Estavillo

 

041806: O2 to introduce 4 3G-ready PDA-phones

i.t. matters

Tuesday April 18, 2006 | MANILA, PHILIPPINES

News

O2 to introduce 4 3G-ready PDA-phones

Handheld maker O2 is set to introduce at most four new models of 3G-ready personal digital assistant (PDAs)-phone in the Philippines this year, as the company plans to strengthen its two-year old brand in the country.

Low Han Thong, new country manager for Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore & Vietnam, told Business World in a recent interview that the new models will be available by third quarter this year.

The 3G technology allows fast transmission speeds for high bandwidth applications such as video calls and video streaming.

This early, 02 and Haldane Phils. Inc., its exclusive local distributor, are now preparing for the commercial launch of Atom Pure, with a suggested retail price of P42,500. This is the latest version of Xda Atom, this time in a shiny white casing.

The Atom model, debuted in January in a smooth piano-black casing has been tagged as the world's smallest multimedia PDA-phone. Its features include a 2.0 megapixel camera, a large 2.7" 262K-color QVGA TFT-LCD touch screen, an FM radio tuner and sports an O2 MediaPlus application, described as the first multi-media center created for PDA-phones.

Despite its premium pricing, Haldane sales director Lavenia P. Revilla said the O2 brand has already penetrated the consumer market. "We were able to capture the corporate market, but we are starting to gain interest from the general market when we introduce the O2 mini. Now, we are seeing an increasing move to the general market with the Atom and the new products which O2 will introduce this year are basically positioned for the general consumers," Ms. Revilla said.

Launched early last year, O2 Xda Mini S is the company's smallest full-function PDA phone at 4 inches by 2.5 inches wide.

In the corporate market, she said O2 has captured a "dominant share" in the pharmaceutical industry and the auto-insurance industry.

Ms. Revilla added that the O2 brand is even digging into the dominant pre-paid market, estimated to account for 95% to 97% of the country's mobile phone users.

"The pre-paid market, which used to buy entry-level phone, is now maturing. Now, they are looking for replacement, looking for gadgets that are beyond the mobile phone. O2 is more than a mobile phone, it has both the features of a mobile phone and a pocket PC," she said.

Going forward, O2, thru Hal-dane, is planning to set up "concept shops" in the country, to showcase O2's entire product portfolio in one store.

This, Ms. Revilla described, will help the company widen the reach of the brand, presently marketed by 20 local partner resellers, a mix of information technology (IT) and consumer electronics stores.

Singapore-headquartered O2 Asia, where the Philippines operation is part, is a member of the mmO2 plc group, a leading provider of mobile communications services in Europe with over 21 million mobile customers.

mmO2 was formed in November 2001 following a demerger from British Telecommunications plc, and is listed on the London and the New York Stock Exchanges. It has 100% ownership of mobile network operators in UK, Germany and Ireland. -- Maricel E. Estavillo