Innove targets 1 million fixed line subscribers

Ayala-led Innove Communications is poised to hit a one million subscriber base in its fixed line product across the country in the next three years.

The confidence was boosted after the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) granted a nationwide franchise to the company last year, said Innove Communications Gil B. Genio.

Although, Innove's Globelines is considered as a late entrant in providing fixed line telecommunications product in the Philippines, which is obviously dominated by its competitor Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT), Genio said Innove is taking the challenge to stay afloat in the competition.

PLDT now has over two million subscriber base in its fixed line product, while Globelines is now settling in about 362,000 subscribers, majority of which are located in the Visayas, as well as smaller areas in the country, which used to be its franchise area.

Now, Genio said Globelines will be investing into providing fixed line services in huge communities in the country, and in some parts of the Visayas that are not fully tapped.

"We are close to being present in the entire Visayas already. We are now in the major cities in the Visayas, and the company is doing extra moves to penetrate the whole country," Genio said.

In the next three years, the company will actively compete with PLDT in attracting subscribers. For Globelines it aims to get at least 700,000 more subscribers come 2009.

Although, the worldwide fixed line industry has experienced "shrinkage" in terms of subscriber growth in the last few years, Genio said in the Philippines there is still a huge market to be tapped especially that broadband product demand is on the upward movement.

He said aside from the growing broadband savvy residential market, the corporate market is still a big potential, with the entry of more Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) companies in the Philippines, which primary requirement is fixed line telecommunication infrastructure.

Currently, Globelines has 20,000 broadband subscribers nationwide. This number is expected to triple in the next few years, as the demand is getting stronger.

To complement its target to hit the one million subscriber base in 2009, Genio said the company is going to introduce attractive promotions that will lure new subscribers in the fixed line business.

"We will be offering more attractive value added services for our fixed line product. We want to be more competitive," Genio said.

As Globelines is doubling its effort to capture more subscribers, PLDT is also doing the same.

Genio said the bottomline is the subscribers or the market will be much benefited by the intense competition in the landline services offered by these two giant companies.

For the full year 2005, Globelines recorded a double-digit growth of 14 percent in total wireline net operating revenues.

The overall 14 percent growth is attributed to growth experienced in both voice and data segments, as well as non-service revenues.

Globelines' wireline services include; voice communications services, like local, national long distance, IDD, and other value-added services, through its postpaid, prepaid and payphone lines.