Philippines Digitel aims to be top Internet Service Provider

Manila, Dec 24 (Asia Pulse) - Digitel Telecommunications Philippines Inc. (Digitel) aims to be the top Internet service provider in the country within the next six months.

Digitel vice president for Internet and data communications division Venancio Chan is optimistic about the company's chances of becoming the country's top ISP in the Philippines by the middle of 2000 given the rate of its progress since it started offering Internet services in July 2000.

"By June next year, we will be number one because of our product superiority," Chan said. Since July, Digitel's Internet subscriber base has already reached 10,000. On the other hand, it took the country's top ISP's like Mozcon and Pacific Internet three to four years to build their 25,000 to 40,000 subscriber bases. Chan attributed the increase to its subscriber bases to the telephone lines Digitel subscribers use to surf the World Wide Web.

He said that with 270,000 landline subscribers, Digitel's Internet domain has enormous potential. Digitel also boasts it has the best Internet service in the country because its extensive landline network makes it easy for its subscribers to log into the World Wide Web, and download files. For next year, Digitel hopes that at least five to eight percent of its revenues will come from Internet services.

This year, its Internet service will make up less than two percent of Digitel's projected year end revenue of P3.6 (US$88.45 million) to P3.8 billion. Digitel bought equipment to control voice and data traffic in its 570,000 line network to become an Internet service provider.