SMB entering the telecom war

[shadow]

yes! about time that somebody show to leading players what broadband speed really is.



http://www.manilatimes.net/national/...81220opi6.html

[SIZE=2]VIRTUAL REALITY
By Tony Lopez
[/SIZE][SIZE=4]Telco battle royale[/SIZE]

[SIZE=2]The San Miguel group is going into the telecom business in a big way. It is acquiring majority of once dormant telco Liberty Telecoms and has tied up with Qatar Telecom to backstop its foray into wireless telephony. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=2]Liberty will provide the franchise and the broadband licenses. QTel, majority-owned by the State of Qatar, will provide the financial wherewithal. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=2]San Miguel is expected to roll out its cellular service by the middle of 2009, according to Raymond Moreno, the former majority owner of Liberty Telecoms. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=2]Moreno says SMC will use Wi-Max, said to be the most advanced telephone technology in the world today. “Wi-Max will make obsolete the technology of both PLDT Smart and Globe Telecom,” he claims. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=2]Both Smart and Globe use 3G and GSM technologies, which Moreno insists, pale in comparison with the capability of Wi-Max. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=2]“Wimax is only 10 percent of the cost of GSM and 3G,” explains Moreno. Thus, he points out, San Miguel will be very competitive because it will have a 90-percent price advantage. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=2]Wi-Max is a very simple technology, says Moreno. “All you need is a tube inside your house which will serve as the cellsite. The tube can accommodate cellular, landline, DSL and cable TV all at the same time at a fraction of the cost of current services,” he points out. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=2]Telephony is a P200 billion a year business in terms of sales and P50 billion in terms of profits. In 2007, Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) chalked up sales of P146 billion and made P36 billion in profits. Globe Telecom, on the other hand, registered revenues of P63 billion and netted P13.27 billion. These are close to 60 million cell users, 65 percent of the population. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=2]Moreno says San Miguel will offer existing PLDT Smart and Globe subscribers a very good deal. “They can exchange their GSM cell phones for Wi-Max phones and save plenty of money and yet greatly expand their capability.” [/SIZE]
[SIZE=2]QTel, with an estimated subscriber base of 55 million from 16 countries where it operates GSM or WiMax services, last year paid $1.8 billion for a 40.8 percent stake in Indonesia’s telecom service provider PT Indosat Tbk. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=2]San Miguel, which is diversifying into businesses outside its traditional food and beverage operations, has bought the Government Service and Insurance System’s 27 percent share in the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) for about P30 billion, and is negotiating with London-based Ashmore Group to acquire 51 percent of Petron Corp. for P32.8 billion. The British investment firm is raising its stake in Petron from 51 percent to 90 percent by acquiring the government’s remaining 40 percent interest in the oil company. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=2]The acquisitions are in line with the pledge by San Miguel Chairman and CEO Eduardo Cojuangco Jr. and President and COO Ramon Ang that San Miguel will develop new engines of growth in power and other utilities, infrastructure, mining and property. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=2]As part of its entry into the telecom business, San Miguel is finalizing negotiations to acquire a controlling stake in Liberty Telecoms. “We are in negotiations to buy 60 percent [of Liberty Telecoms],” says Ang. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=2]Ang has been elected as the new chairman of Liberty, replacing Gabriel Dee shortly after assuming the chairmanship from Raymond Moreno. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=2]Liberty Telecoms, which filed for rehabilitation with the Makati Regional Trial Court in 2005 after suspending operations due to tight cash problems, has been scouting for a strategic partner to revive its ailing operations. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=2]QTel, for its part, recently acquired 27.12 percent of Liberty Telecoms through the conversion of its loans to the telecom firm into equity. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=2]San Miguel and QTel on December 15 signed a memorandum of understanding to seek joint opportunities in the wireless broadband, mobile and mobile broadband sectors in the Philippines. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=2]The agreement was signed by San Miguel President Ramon Ang and QTel deputy chairman Sheikh Mohammed Bin Suhaim Al-Thani in the presence of President Gloria Arroyo, who was on a three-day working visit to Qatar. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=2]Arroyo welcomed the joint venture. She called for more investments in technology and other related industries. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=2]Ang says San Miguel is venturing into the technology-intensive telecommunications industry because it “believes that the Filipino consumer will be the ultimate beneficiary of its intended investments.” He points out that the public will have access to a reliable service provider offering affordable high-speed wireless broadband and communication solutions. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=2]Al-Thani says the joint venture is part of QTel’s ongoing plans for expansion and consolidation within Southeast Asia. He notes that the group has been looking “to increase its profile within the Philippines as the environment appears increasingly open to external investment and the provision of communication services.” [/SIZE]
[SIZE=2]At present, the domestic broadband market is dominated by PLDT, controlled by the Hong Kong-based First Pacific Ltd., Globe Telecom of Ayala Corp. and Singapore Telecom, Bayan Telecommunications of the Lopez family and John Gokongwei’s Digital Telecommunications Philippines Inc. [/SIZE]

[woohoo]

ayus na ayus ito! i can't wait!!!

[ghosthunter]

can't wait... hopefully implementation bugs would be minor.

[ab_initio]

^^ medyo mahaba...kain po muna bago mag comment.

[Gerbo]

Competition is always welcome in a capital market. Good for consumers.

[jatcos]

Ok sana to pero hindiba wimax narin ang gamit ni Smart broken at yung naunsameng zte broadband deal..Baka by the time na roll-out nila to eh obsolete na technology.. Cguro kung gusto nila real competition, latag nalang sila ng sariling fiber backbone fron batanes to jolo then going outside to taiwan and hongkong for international traffic..Sigurado matitinag ang PLDT neto. Ok din yung Liberty, dream satellite TV sana kasama to sa service nila then telephone, cable tv, and internet in one package just like verizon fios..

[ghosthunter]

Ok sana to pero hindiba wimax narin ang gamit ni Smart broken at yung naunsameng zte broadband deal..Baka by the time na roll-out nila to eh obsolete na technology.. Cguro kung gusto nila real competition, latag nalang sila ng sariling fiber backbone fron batanes to jolo then going outside to taiwan and hongkong for international traffic..Sigurado matitinag ang PLDT neto. Ok din yung Liberty, dream satellite TV sana kasama to sa service nila then telephone, cable tv, and internet in one package just like verizon fios..

I think SMART is using 3G for it's wireless services which has proven spotty in certain areas.

WiMax is a different technology but similar to 3G in that "cell sites" would be setup. Each WiMax site would let users connect similar to wifi systems.

[kinyo]

The agreement was signed by San Miguel President Ramon Ang and QTel deputy chairman Sheikh Mohammed Bin Suhaim Al-Thani in the presence of President Gloria Arroyo, who was on a three-day working visit to Qatar.
Arroyo welcomed the joint venture. She called for more investments in technology and other related industries.

solb na naman si fat bastard

[rion]

I heard about this when arroyo went to qatar in tv patrol. telecom at internet yung papasukin nila...

like other companies, I will expect internet common problems like server down, etc. let's just hope they provide better service, faster yet cheaper bandwidth package.

[NoTnERb]

good ito for us consumers, hehehe, keep them coming, tayo rin ang bebenifit dito, weee

[vito corleone]

ayos 'to. . .more competitors means facilities improvement for the existing players and cheaper costs for us consumers

[CVT]

Right now, what I have is P663/mbps or roughly $13.5/mbps (globelines)... This is still a 'very' expensive rate......

7303:soda:

[mazdamazda]

I think SMART is using 3G for it's wireless services which has proven spotty in certain areas.

WiMax is a different technology but similar to 3G in that "cell sites" would be setup. Each WiMax site would let users connect similar to wifi systems.

AFAIK

Smart used the Wimax technology for its initial broadband roll-out. Not sure what happened as they scrapped it and replaced it with 3G.

"“Wimax is only 10 percent of the cost of GSM and 3G,”

That is just stretching the truth too far. Hehe.



__________________

bigbigcar.com First Drive: BMW X6 Xdrive35i

[testament11]

mukhang maganda eto ah. sana lang, magmura na ang bandwidth dito sa atin pag natuloy eto

[creepy]

AFAIK

Smart used the Wimax technology for its initial broadband roll-out. Not sure what happened as they scrapped it and replaced it with 3G.

Not really.

Smart's testing it (WiMax) now. Globe is close to launching it.

[mazdamazda]

Not really.

Smart's testing it (WiMax) now. Globe is close to launching it.

So they're relaunching it again?

That's weird...

[alinauy76]

Now this is getting interesting! If San Miguel Corporation (SMB) is entering the telecom war like 976 What Network Philippines - Gomo Prefix, we might finally see real competition. Hoping they shake things up and give us faster, more reliable internet—and maybe even better prices!

[alinauy76]

SMB joining the telecom war could really change the landscape. A stronger competitor often forces everyone to improve, so better speeds and fairer pricing might finally become a reality. Here’s something related you might want to check out: MATATAG Curriculum - Deped Matatag Curriculum (225) -

[alinauy76]

This move might be a big win for consumers. If SMB brings solid infrastructure and new ideas, it could disrupt the current setup in a good way. More competition usually means better service for all. TNT SIM Registration - SIM Registration TNT (225)