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Ji-Net set to team up with eThailand.com
In an aggressive expansion move, Ji-NET, an Internet service provider (ISP) of Jasmine International, has forged a joint marketing deal with eThailand.com.
Somsak Padhana-anek, president of Ji-NET, said the ISP has sealed a two year exclusive contract for joint marketing with the portal site to help broaden Ji-NET's customer base.
"The portal site will help promote our campaigns on its venue and seek clients for the ISP," he said.
Meanwhile, Ji-NET will provide a variety of solutions, including a hosting service and lease lines, to the portal site to promote rapid access.
EThailand.com is a fast-growing portal site offering investment information on Thailand.
Amid fierce competition, Ji-NET has rapidly expanded its business lines to safeguard its share from both local and overseas rivals.
Currently, Ji-NET has 8,000 monthly individual subscribers and 75 corporate subscribers with a sales record of 100,000 Net kits.
Apart from the Net access service, Ji-NET is offering a data-centre service, a new trend in the local Internet market.
And recently it launched high-speed Net access for corporate clients via a link-up with data -network provider Lenso Datacom.
In addition, the ISP has invested about Bt5 million to set up an automatic call centre to provide 24-hour customer service.
It has also teamed up with iPass Inc. to launch an Internet roaming service this month, allowing its subscribers to surf the Net from anywhere in the world on their accounts.
IPass global network allows access to their corporate networks or Internet accounts from anywhere in the world. Several ISPs use its network to extend their service offerings globally.
Somsak said most Ji-NET services target corporate clients, which have generated consistent revenues to the provider over the long term. "We predict that our corporate-client base will surge by 10 per cent next year," Somsak said.
"The ISP expects to reach a break even period in the third quarter next year, with projected revenues of Bt180 million, up from Bt90 million this year.
Somsak said Ji-NET intended to list on the Market for Alternative Investment (MAI), dubbed as Thailand's Nasdaq.
Last month, Roynet Internet, a small local ISP, announced it was listing on the MAI. Recently, Ji-NET offered Bt4.8 million to buy back the 35-per-cent stake held by the Communications Authority of Thailand in a bid to free itself from the state's constraint.
According to federal law, the state agency currently holds a 35-per-cent stake in each of the local ISPs.
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