ETPI to invest P1.5 B to boost network

Eastern Telecommunications Philippines, Inc. (ETPI) is investing around P1.5 billion until next year for a cable backhaul facility and network improvement.

ETPI officials said the company is spending at least P500 million for a cable backhaul facility in Nasugbu, Batangas. The facility is designed to expand ETPI’s coverage in Cavite and Laguna.

According to ETPI chief finance officer Raul Pagdanganan, the backhaul facility will serve as a link that will provide bigger bandwidth for the company’s data services to better serve more corporate clients. The cable backhaul facility will be operational by the end of the year.

ETPI is also spending P110 million to overhaul its systems capabilities with a new business support system (BSS), which will improve the company’s productivity.

Officials explained that the new system will allow for better organization of information, improvement of decision-making processes, proactively defining target clients to enhance customer acquisition, and improving customer care processes and product innovation.

The BSS, which will cost about P110 million, is expected to be the cornerstone to ensure ETPI’s network efficiency and will be operational in the fourth quarter in conjunction with the fiber optic facility.

The remaining amount will be used to spend for network improvement. For 2009, ETPI officials expect capex to be half of what will be allocated for this year.

ETPI will source half of the capex through internally generated funds and the rest from borrowings.   – Mary Ann Reyes