EasyCall gets license for data communications

MANILA, Philippines - The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) has granted Easycall Communications Philippines Inc. (ECPI) the license to install, operate and maintain a nationwide data communications network.

The NTC approval, however, was subject to the condition that within eight months from the issuance of the provisional authority, ECPI shall infuse an additional P10 million in paid-up capital and not through a loan, in order to make the communication network viable.

ECPI is targeting schools and hospitals to drive up revenues for its plan to put up a nationwide data communications network.

In a submission of its financial study to the NTC, the company said its service offering involves the sale of bandwidth to primary and secondary medical hospitals as well as to educational institutions.

Its proposed Internet service offering with a speed of 512 kilobytes per second will be priced at $240 (approximately P11,500) per month; up to one megabyte per second (Mbps) at $500; and up to two Mbps at $800 monthly.

The company has identified a total of 1,898 schools nationwide as prospective clients for a five-year period with revenues seen to reach P4.82 million on the fifth year of operations.

ECPI is eyeing almost P650,000 in revenues from the 253 hospitals it wants to tap as clients. In total, its projected revenues for the five-year period is estimated to reach P5.47 million.

“This undertaking will essentially provide service connectivity. Critical to this service is the transfer of medical records. The speed by which these records are shared by medical professionals is crucial to patients as end-users of the said service offering,” ECPI said.

“The campaign will also significantly benefit educational institutions as it is seen to increase the range of resources available to both students and teachers. Access to the Internet provides not only access to global resources, but also to an electronic encyclopedia that aid in research, science and foreign languages. Computer labs in schools offer tools for computer training. Moreover, this service offering will also enable school administrators and teachers to spend less time on administration and recordkeeping,” said the company.

The total project costs P6.59 billion over a five-year period, said the company, which shifted from originally offering paging services.

In its application, ECPI said the permit is consistent with the government’s policy of ensuring viable infrastructure and services in information and communications technology accessible to all.

“This proposed nationwide data communications network will be geared towards servicing areas in the country which are either unserved or underserved,” it added.