Telecoms operator Vibo Telecom Inc (威寶電信) yesterday said it planned to spend more than NT$2 billion (US$67.9 million) to boost its number of base stations to attract more customers and improve its bottom line this year.
Vibo Telecom president Chang Feng-hsiung (張豊雄) told a media briefing that a delay in capacity expansion and network upgrades last year greatly limited the company’s ability to expand its customer base.
“Because of insufficient capacity, we did not launch an extensive marketing campaign to increase the number of -subscribers, which affected the company’s [financial performance],” Chang said, blaming tight capacity for the company’s weaker-than-expected results last year.
Vibo, which launched 3G services in 2005, missed its target of breaking even last year.
“Vibo will be able to break even this year, if we can expand our network and customers as planned,” Chang said.
Last year, Vibo’s number of base stations was little changed at about 6,000 units compared with 2009.
Vibo has placed more than NT$2 billion in orders for telecoms equipment this year, Chang said.
The company aims to have about 8,000 base stations by the first quarter of next year to support high-speed 3.75-generation data transmission with a downlink speed of up to 21 megabytes per second, said Paul Chou (鄒伯川), a vice president at Vibo.
The deployment would begin after the company receives approval from the National Communications Commission, Chou said.
With capacity on the rise, Vibo hopes to increase its number of subscribers to at least 2.5 million this year, up 35 percent from 1.85 million users now.
Separately, Vibo yesterday inked a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Palau Mobile Corp to provide international roaming services in the South -Pacific island nation.
Based on the MOU, Vibo would help build 20 high-speed 3.75G base stations for Palau Mobile later this year and would share roaming revenues.
The deal would help Vibo grow its revenues and profits, Vibo said.
No detailed financial terms were disclosed.
Palau Mobile generated about 80 percent of NT$100 million in revenues by offering international roaming services, company president Luc Huang (黃坤鋒) told a media briefing in Taipei.
Palau Mobile, the only telecoms company offering roaming services, mostly for tourists there, expected revenues to double this year from last year on the back of a rebound in tourism in Palau, Huang said.
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