With demand for wireless application protocol (WAP) service waning, one telecommunications operator in Taiwan said yesterday that the launch of next generation GPRS services depends on advanced handsets to deliver high-quality Internet service to cellphone users.
"We are not going to launch our GPRS services until we are 100 percent certain they [customers] will get the best quality network and the best handsets so they can use those services," said Charlie Midgley, senior vice president of marketing and sales at TransAsia Telecommunications (
Consumers and pundits have long complained that WAP is slow, pricey and that available content is weak.
"We don't want even one of our very satisfied customers to be upset with us because GPRS products and services did not meet their needs," he said.
Midgley believes the launch of GPRS products and services is a natural progression in delivering customers quality wireless services.
"We have not tested one handset that we would feel comfortable with marketing these new services on," he said, emphasizing that the Taiwan market cannot afford another lackluster response such as the one which greeted WAP.
TransAsia's President and CEO Richard McCormick echoed his point of view. "You won't see TransAsia using GPRS technology until we think it is ready for our customers," McCormick said.
McCormick declined to elaborate on reports that some existing shareholders have agreed to sell any or all of thier TransAsia shares to ensure the company's continued success.
Since late last year, the owners of TransAsia have reportedly been looking for new investors -- including Far EasTone Telecom (
But, "As a president of TransAsia, I would tell you that I have not been involved in any of these discussions with anybody interested in buying shares from our shareholders," said McCormick, adding that what the shareholders end up deciding to do is an issue he and his management team do not deal with. "We deal with taking care of customers," he said.
McCormick indicated that not all the company's competitors were playing fairly.
"One of the other operators in Taiwan said they are very interested in TransAsia. If I were an operator in Taiwan, I would be very interested in TransAsia also. But if I were a competitor with TransAsia, I would probably try to make everybody believe there was some instability within the company. Then get our customers to turn to their networks," McCormick said.
TransAsia, a regional service provider which has over 656,000 subscribers in southern Taiwan, is expecting to its customer base to 800,000 subscribers by the end of this year, according to Midgley. In addition, the company expects its business turnover will grow 15 to 20 percent this year with after-tax profits of NT$1.6 billion.
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