NOW Telecom plans USD28 million metro Manila rollout

The Philippines wireless operator NOW Telecom, which was formerly known as Next Mobile, has unveiled plans to spend USD28 million over the next two years to deploy cellular sites in the metro Manila area. The firm says it is targeting low-end users with an offer of unlimited text messages and voice calls. NOW Telecom is utilising the cellular licence held by Next Mobile, which originally offered a two-way radio service based on iDEN technology but which failed to attract large numbers of users. ‘We are not targeting 100% or 50% of the market. The strategy is to get at least 2% to 5%,’ Mel Velasco Velerde, whose NOW Corp owns 19% of NOW Telecom, told InterAksyon. ‘Even less than 1% you are still profitable,’ he added. Velerde hopes the telco will have 2.9 million subscribers and PHP1.6 billion (USD36.6 million) in revenues after five years of operation.