State-owned telecom firm challenges private telcos

Government owned Telecommunications Office (TelOf) is taking its ground to compete with the telecom giants in the country to push these private-owned firms to yield and provide affordable cost of communications.

From a debt saddled state-owned company last year with P118 million debt, the company is now starting fresh with zero debt as of this year, and ventures into offering high powered technology such as Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP), WiMax, among others.

"We are flying already. With our entry into offering VoIP, we will push big telecom companies to yield, otherwise they want monopoly," said TelOf president and Commission on Information Communication Technology (CITC) commissioner Bert Emphasis.

TelOf is a National Government Agency created through legislation. It was previously under the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC), but was transferred to the newly created CICT, through Executive Order number 269, on January 2004.

Emphasis said with no cost from the government, TelOf has been able to invest in technology roll out from its new international partners such as the Singapore-based telecommunications carrier ETN Singapore, and the WorldVoice Telecom.

TelOf which was originally providing traditional telecommunications infrastructure like telegram, telegraphic transfer, among others, was severely hit by the advent of technology based communication access like the Internet, e-mail, and other Internet-based communication features.

According to Emphasis, TelOf is ready to compete with the telecom giants, like Philippine Long Distance Company (PLDT), Globe's Innove Communications, especially in pushing the affordable availability of VoIP.

Since the company re-entered into the telecom trade, Emphasis said TelOf has rolled out 25,000 subscribers already mostly in the remote parts of the country, out of its total 87,000 available telephone line.

TelOf has an extensive nationwide digital telecommunications backbone network facility. It handles traffic for its voice services (fixed line, public calling offices, etc.), as well as for its data services (Internet, WAN, etc.).

"TelOf is presently undergoing a major paradigm shift with the ambition of becoming an Internet Service Provider (ISP), a Local Internet Bandwidth Reseller, an International Money Remittance Operator, an International Gateway Facility (IGF) Operator, and others. All these undertakings are done through an able partnership with the private sector," Emphasis said.

Before the end of October this year, Emphasis said the company targets to sell out the 87,000 available lines in the Visayas and Mindanao areas, as well as in Northern Luzon.

Recently, TelOf signed a Memorandum of Agreement with ETN Singapore for the former to roll-out US$25 million to US$30 million investment in setting up higher form of technology access including VoIP, WiMax, and high broadband bandwidth specifically to underserved areas in the country.

WiMax, is a higher form of Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) infrastructure, allowing Internet connection in a wider coverage scope up to 42 kilometers.