Next Mobile sees complete turnaround in 2008

Next Mobile Inc. (NMI), the country’s newest mobile telephone system (MTS) operator, expects a complete turnaround in its financial picture beginning next year, as the company undertakes several projects aimed at increasing subscriber base and revenue streams.

NMI anticipates to end 2007 with gross revenues of P400 million compared to P250 million last year. Although the company will still register a net loss this year, officials emphasize that it is already cash positive, which is a more important gauge of profitability for a company that is on the investment mode.

NMI chief executive officer Mel Velarde in an interview also revealed that the company grew its sales revenues by 60 percent in January this year compared to December 2006, even as he expects the uptrend to continue throughout the year.

He also disclosed that in four months’ time, the company will be EBITDA (earnings before interests, taxes, depreciation and amortization) positive. "By the end of 2008, however, we will start registering a net income," he said.

The company projects a more than 10-fold increase in the number of subscribers, following a move to tap the growing market of overseas Filipinos.

From around 21,000 corporate customers, NMI expects the number to increase to 300,000 corporate and individual subscribers in four years’ time. By then, NMI would be utilizing the entire capacity of its network.

Velarde said that while the market among overseas Filipinos is huge, the company will only be limited by the capacity of its network, thereby necessitating investments in capacity build-up soon.

The company began its foray into the international market with the launch of Myworld phone, a mobile phone service that offers unlimited calling, benefitting Filipinos working and living abroad and their relatives in the Philippines, local businesses with international partners or branches, and also foreign nationals of multinational companies.

The new service utilizes the iDEN (Integrated Digital Enhanced Network) technology of Motorola and through its partnerships with other iDEN operators around the world such as Sprint Nextel, the third largest wireless telecommunications network in the United States.

Velarde said that at $30 to $40 per month per subscriber, a relative or business partner in the US or in selected countries can call a designated number in the Philippines (having the same area code as the US number) unlimited at a very affordable fixed rate. Another option is for the one in the Philippines to be calling unlimited to a number abroad, or for both the party in the Philippines and abroad to be calling unlimited.

Aside from unlimited calling, NMI is also working out an international service that will allow unlimited texting to the US and possibly other countries, and unlimited push to talk in Saudi Arabia. The company is likewise in talks with a number of banks to create a third consortium for foreign exchange remittances.

Describing the local telecommunications market as fiercely competitive, Velarde said this atmosphere augurs well for niche players such as NMI "which have an intense focus on their target market."

"Since the telecommunications market is very competitive, we have to be choosy with our market segments. We are thus capitalizing on our existing strength in 16 countries," he pointed out.

Velarde revealed that unlimited texting may be unveiled in three months’ time for US and Canada. "Currently, we have texting interconnection with a large number of international carriers," he added.

NMI currently has a network covering the entire Metro Manila, from Baguio in North Luzon and up to Batangas in Southern Luzon. Currently, expansion in the Visayas is on the way, with the Cebu coverage available by end of March 2007. Its services will soon expand to Davao and other key cities nationwide.