Telecom veteran partners with Dutch electronics giant, Philips

Back in the days when ham radios were still cool, Joey Uy was already training to rise up the ranks of the communications arena. What started first as a hobby tinkering with ham radios transformed and developed into a lucrative venture in sales and installation of two-way radio communications equipment.

At the dawn of the nineties, he partnered with the biggest telecom distributor in the country at that time. Uy helped the telco company grow in size and reach, spanning the technology transition from analog to GSM.

Timing and technology were both on Joey’s side. The boom of SMS in the late nineties propelled the Philippine telecom industry forward at such a fast pace that only the alert and wise are ready to take advantage. It was the perfect time to create his own company. Thus, Telecom Concepts Inc. was established on May 25, 1998. The company started when a group of established experienced telecoms professionals decided to engage in marketing and distribution of mobile technology.

Telecom Concept Inc. (TCI) was a major distributor of Samsung & LG mobile phones in the Philippines. Since then TCI has expanded to include operator prepaid cards for Globe and Smart and Sun Cellular. Other big name phone manufacturers who are partnered with TCI are LG Electronics and just recently, the Dutch electronics giant, Philips.

From a retail trading business, TCI grew into a holding company which provides management and business strategy to its subsidiaries also engaged in the wireless communication technology.

The TCI group of companies include E-Phone Co. Inc., First Telecom Phils. Inc. and Load.com.ph. Proof of this telecom genius’ abilities is his latest brainchild, Load.com.ph. Through load.com.ph you can do online electronic loading system. Anyone can load their prepaid cellphones, whether it be from Smart, Talk N Text, Addict Mobile, Globe Handyphone, Touch Mobile, and Sun Cellular from anywhere in the world, anytime, via the Internet. Electronic PIN such as online game top-ups are also available. Load.com.ph’s mobile electronic loading system allows mobile phone subscribers with ordinary SIM, whether prepaid or post-paid, from any telephone operator, to electronically load their own cellphone or electronically load another person’s cellphone wirelessly via plain cell-to-cell SMS.

Uy expects to sell half a million phones this year. His ambition comes from confidence in his newest partner, Philips.

"Philips products are really excellent. Their mobile phones are superior in design, easy to use and packed with capabilities. The most outstanding feature is the battery life. Imagine not having to charge your phone for six days? Picture all this at a reasonable price," Uy said.

According to Uy, what makes it easy for him to market Philips phones is the integrity of the brand. "More importantly, with Philips products you don’t just have a premium brand and a reliable phone, you are also getting the best value for your money."

" Apart from their products being good, Philips takes good care of their partners. Philips puts top priority not just on their business partners but more importantly the end-customers, and this helps us a lot to promote Philips more. Philips good service and customer support has also helped compliment our brand in terms of trust. Our sales has improved and we are now trusted even more by our customers," he said.

Just like their partner, Philips, TCI is determined to stay ahead of the competition by constantly trying out new things, by innovating and giving the customers a glimpse of what lies in the future.

" We are not just selling phones, it’s about doing better business with our partner."