Internet service provider Mosaic Communications Inc. and online service provider Global Online Holdings Inc. signed this week an agreement to provide this service to the Filipino community.
Called "MosCom Online," it will be the first Internet Online Community Service (IOCS) in the country that will be locally based and will offer Philippine content to a Philippine market.
MosCom Online will be only the fourth IOCS in the world. Only three other countries currently offer this service, namely, the United States (AOL), Japan (Nifty Serve) and Korea (Chollian).
MosCom will be a value-added service for MosCom subscribers alone, which currently number 50,000. For a small additional charge to their regular MosCom monthly subscription fee, MosCom subscribers can now download content and services from the Internet that are directly relevant and useful to them. They can also enhance their Internet experience by having faster access to more sites in less time.
MosCom Online is a one-stop information hub that offers a variety of content and services localized to the Philippines. It offers communication services like chat, mail, closed user groups, special interest groups, bulletin board system, forum and instant messaging.
It also provides multimedia and online courses (distance learning), online shopping, news and database services, personal finance sites (like stock market info, online trading, real estate and online banking), games, and kids’ sites.
MosCom Online will also provide pay-per-access Special Content to subscribers who need to get in touch with industry experts for personalized or customized advice on such concerns as health, business climate, investments, astrology, politics and economics.
Local businesses are likewise expected to benefit greatly from the service. With its built-in business solutions, MosCom’s corporate subscribers will find it easier to network with their employees, and their current and future customers. The B2B and B2C potentials of the service are limitless.
MosCom Online will be available to MosCom subscribers by August this year.
There are glaring differences between a portal, an ISP and an IOCS. One of these is that portals provide content, while ISPs provide connectivity. Only the IOCS provides both content and connectivity all in one platform. The IOCS makes the Internet experience a breeze for both first-time users and power surfers, providing a plethora of features that make it an Internet "grand bazaar."
"The Chollian model, which we are using for MosCom Online, will interest more Filipinos because it provides content and services that are close to their hearts," said Eric de Dios, vice president of Global Online Philippines.
GOL Philippines is a joint venture of GOL Korea and Maginet Philippines and is tasked to market the service in the country.
Unlike AOL, which provides purely American content anywhere it locates, De Dios said Chollian makes use of local content and content sources (in this case, Philippine content) to establish the local service. MosCom Online, for instance, will make use of Filipino sites, Filipino experts, Filipino news and databases to cater to a Filipino community. Chat groups, CUGs and SIGs will be composed of Filipino based here.
The Chollian model is dependent on revenue sources other than banner ads and advertising. Chollian gets only 11 percent of its revenue from advertising. Part of the investment to develop and manage the service comes from subscription fees. Because of this, MosCom is committed to bringing quality content and value-added services, as well as top-of-the-line partners, for its subscribers.
"Content and online services are the next wave in MosCom’s continuing line of value-added investment," said MosCom chairman Willy Gan. "In the past seven years, we’ve devoted our time to building the infrastructure base that allowed us to provide better service to our subscribers. Now, we are ready to take off for even greater ventures, and one of them is content."
"Our partnership with GOL is one of many strategic tie-ups we’ve been doing to enable us develop our own line of e-services. Our points-of-presence appreciate what we are doing and are ready to go into the same direction. The interest we generated in the recent TMNS conference in Cebu showed that we all share a vision to make the Philippines the e-services hub of the region and the world," Gan added.