Next Mobile preparing to regain foothold in PH telecom sector

Filipino consumers may soon witness the revival of one of the country’s pioneering mobile network brands following the signing of a deal between China’s Huawei International and a local firm for the supply of new equipment to Next Mobile Inc.

Listed firm Information Capital Technology Ventures Inc. (ICTV) in a disclosure said it was initially spending $12 million for the expansion of subsidiary Next Mobile, formerly Nextel Communications, with the goal of regaining its foothold in the country’s telecom sector.

“Huawei will supply and deliver the necessary telecommunications infrastructure and systems required in the nationwide build-up plans of Next Mobile, with (ICTV) providing funding,” the company told the Philippine Stock Exchange.

ICTV, which invests mainly in local technology startups, approved the deal on December 29.

The supply deal is in line with the memorandum of understanding signed by ICTV and the Chinese telecom giant last September. The signing was done during the Philippine-Eastern China Business Forum held at Shangri-La Hotel in Shanghai, China’s financial center.

Led by businessman Mel Velarde, ICTV’s deal with Huawei and local unit Huawei Technologies Phils. Inc. was one of several deals signed during President Aquino’s state visit to China last year.

Under the deal, ICTV said it would explore with the Huawei group the possibility of entering into a business relationship that will allow each party to provide contributions “in order to attain the common purpose of implementing Next Mobile’s nationwide build-up plans.”

The company aims to compete in the country’s lucrative but maturing telecom sector, dominated by Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) and Globe Telecom Inc.—Paolo G. Montecillo