MCI open to tie-up with local firms

MCI WorldCom, a US-based international telecommunications company, has opened its doors to possible partnership with local telecom carriers even. The company has been positioning itself to get a sizeable slice of the $152-billion Asia Pacific telecom market by strengthening its presence in Manila and in other parts of the region.

MCI's local branch which formally opened yesterday, has 10 personnel headed by Exequiel Delgado, who serves as general manager. Delgado was the vice president for corporate and major business unit of Eastern Telecommunications Philippines Inc. (ETPI) before joining MCI.

Mark Russell, MCI general manager for South Asia, however, is mum over the amount of investment they are pouring into the country and on the revenue projections of the firm.

Yet, he noted that the Philippines is a key in achieving MCI's goal of establishing itself as an "Asian" company which would address the communication needs of enterprises, Internet service providers (ISPs) and telecom operators.

After the Philippines, he said MCI will set up offices in two more countries in South Asia but he declined to provide details.

So far, MCI has operating arms in Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, and Malaysia.

At present, Russell said their Philippine clients are mostly composed of multinational companies (MNCs) who have been clamoring for MCI's presence in the country in the past years.

MCI, likewise, has close relationships with local telecom operators which use the former's international fiber optic cables for connectivity to the US and other parts of the globe, he said.

But while MCI considers itself an international player, it is also open to partnerships with domestic carriers, he said.

"We're always interested in looking at opportunities if the environment is ripe. Although it is not in our agenda today because we have just opened our Philippine office. Our concern is to grow our bushiness here," he explained.

Russell also refused to reveal if MCI has been approached by Philippine carriers to become a strategic partner.

On the other hand, Russell said that they expect the Philippine to enjoy the Internet and data explosion which Asia would be experiencing in the next 12 months.

According to him, since Internet access in most countries in the region is still very low, it is predicted that Asia would have a 1,000-percent growth within a year.

Voice, data and Internet traffic will also stay in Asia as more transactions are made by businesses within the region, he added.

As data calls surpass voice, Russell said there would be a greater demand for bandwidth or speed as well as capacity which MCI could easily provide through its fiber optic cables.