PRIMEWORLD Digital Systems Inc. yesterday revealed it would turn itself to a full-fledged telecommunications company that specializes in IP (Internet protocol) communications from a mere ISP (Internet-service provider).

In line with this, the company is switching trade names to Prime Communications from Primeworld. “Prime Communications speaks of our identity as a telco,” said president Jojie Yap in a press briefing Wednesday.

Primeworld Digital is 66-percent Filipino owned. Internet-access provider Pacific Internet Ltd. holds the remaining 34 percent.

By March 28, Primeworld Digital will be known as Prime Communications. “It will be the same company raring to offer new solutions and technology. We are now taking full advantage of our franchise and licenses,” Yap said.

Primeworld Digital was actually awarded a telco franchise in 2001 but the company, Yap said, had been identified as an ISP.  “We found this kind of identity as restricting.”

She said the company continues to be in the midst of a transformation, which started in 2006, when it shifted its focus from traditional dial-up access to its current suite of products and services specifically targeted for the enterprise and SME (small and medium enterprise) customers.

In 2006 the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) licensed Primeworld Digital as voice-over-Internet protocol (VOIP) service provider.

“We believe it’s the right time to fully optimize our franchise and licenses. Before, we used to link up physically with the telcos to deliver our products and services to our customers, but now we are going to use our own wireless infrastructure to deliver wireless connection through radio communications to provide a direct link to our customers,” explained Yap.

“The primary purpose of the wireless network is to target SMEs—corporate and professional users. The market is so big out there that even the large players such as PLDT, Bayan, Globe and others cannot [meet] the demand. The underserved and unserved markets are certainly big enough for us,” Yap added.

Prime Communications will continue to focus on delivering more high-bandwidth Internet access via wireless or traditional leased lines to SMEs and large-scale enterprises.

It will also continue to offer Optimaxx leased line service, Sentinel- managed security solution, back-up data center discovery-recovery services as well as ClearCall VOIP services.

Yap believes growth this year will mainly come from wireless IP connectivity service, which it started to offer last year. The company will also continue to offer premium Internet- access services but will hold on its core IP expertise to build more value-added services and solutions on top of its access.

Prime Communications is also planning to offer WiMax, an emerging alternative to faster mobile networks.

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PRIMEWORLD Digital Systems Inc. yesterday revealed it would turn itself to a full-fledged telecommunications company that specializes in IP (Internet protocol) communications from a mere ISP (Internet-service provider).

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