MANILA, The Philippines—Mobile and data network provider Alcatel Phils. projects US$200 million in sales this year amid the expected sluggish local cellular phone industry.
Last year, the company’s sales amounted to US$190 million, with the mobile network division comprising the largest chunk of business. However, its mobile-phone division performed below company expectations brought about by stiff competition in the industry.
Alcatel Phils. Vice President Chris Carreon noted that one of Alcatel’s current biggest ongoing projects that will improve its bottom line is providing a turnkey GSM/General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) network for Digital Telecommunications Phils. (Digitel), the newest telecom company to enter the cellular service business in the country.
The US$200 million project with Digitel involves supplying two switches and establishing 500 base stations prior to commercial operations to increase to 1,000 when the project starts operating sometime near the end of the year.
