Melita Cable is planning to have its very own submarine cable linking Malta to Sicily within the next 12 months at a cost of over €5 million. This means Malta would have no less than four submarine cables to cater for the ever increasing communications needs with the outside world, especially fast internet and data access.
As Melita increases its services and value-added offerings, it believes that having its own infrastructure now makes a lot of sense and puts it in a stronger position.
Last year, private equity group GMT Communications Partners acquired a majority stake in Melita Cable from Nasdaq-listed Liberty Global Inc and Gasan Holdings. GMT acquired the 50 per cent stake held by Liberty Global and part of a stake held by Gasan, which stayed on as a minority shareholder. Then Melita agreed with 3G Telecommunications Ltd, the holder of a 3G mobile network license, to roll out Malta's third 3G network.
"Our intentions are to help Melita Cable grow," said Stephen Wright, the new chief operations officer at Melita Cable.
"Employees here are very loyal and they want to do a good job. Everybody is willing to fight for every single customer. We see a lot of potential in the different services provided by the company." Mr Wright said. The submarine cable is just one of the major projects Melita is going to embark on to consolidate its position as a quadruple player - a communications company providing fixed-line telephony, internet access, television channels, and mobile communication. Indeed the company's efforts to roll out its mobile network are in full swing and according to the licence conditions it will be in a position to launch commercially in the coming months.
"We aim to challenge the duopoly that has kept mobile tariffs very high in Malta," claimed Mr Wright. "Melita's entry into the mobile market with its 3G licence will enable us to offer superior mobile products and service to its customers."
While the company is busy building up its mobile network, it is experiencing a strong growth in the use of its fixed-line telephony service. Asked how will fixed-line telephony and mobile telephony co-exist given that Malta has already gone mobile at the expense of fixed-line in terms of traffic and line ownership, Mr Wright said. "Fixed telephony rates did not change that much with the introduction of mobile, as the mobile tariffs are very high in Malta. Fixed telephony in Malta has only reduced through the introduction of Melita's Hello digital phone service. This has enabled customers to get great savings on their phone bills. Digital phone is being used by millions of people across Europe as reliable and affordable telephony."
Mr Wright sees growth in the TV business, as Maltese viewers still want more choice and there seems to be no saturation of the market. Its digital cable TV network is available in the great majority of Maltese homes and outlets but competition from the alternative digital terrestrial (DTTV) service from Go has spurred many Maltese to switch to the better-quality digital TV service. By 2010 analog TV services in Malta will be switched off.
Broadband internet access is also expanding and in the coming months Melita is expected to announce an increase in bandwidth for its clients.
Another exciting project is the new IPTV system installed at Mater Dei Hospital. Melita has installed interactive LCD touch screens on every bed that provide both TV channels and internet access. Patients can watch their favourite channels, check their e-mails and visit websites at leisure against a daily fee. There are plans to offer games and other entertainment. Children's wards, public areas and administrative information on Mater Dei is available to patients free of charge. Eventually doctors and nurses will be able to access information on patients from these interactive screens.
i-Tech saw one of these interactive screens in action and can confirm it is very easy to use, it provides good quality TV and an internet experience comparable to that of a home computer or laptop. Although it does not come with a separate keyboard, typing e-mails is easy with an onscreen keyboard. Payment is done through a card which is purchased from machines at the hospital. Unused credit is refunded.
Melita does not exclude that such screens will be made available to its wider client base in the near future, thus replacing the need to have a separate TV set, a set-box for TV and a modem for internet.
Melita's endeavours need a significant strengthening of its human resources and this is expected to grow by a third in the coming months.
"The additional 100 or so new recruiters will be covering all areas at Melita including, customer service, sales, marketing, IT, networks, and finance areas. Our aim is to continue to be a fully integrated company but now selling four products (quad play). We want our customers to enjoy a complete 'one stop shop' experience with the best packages at competitive prices. As a fully integrated quad player we will be Malta's only quad player that has one face to our customers. One bill, one phone call, one package," concluded Mr Wright.
As Melita increases its services and value-added offerings, it believes that having its own infrastructure now makes a lot of sense and puts it in a stronger position.
Last year, private equity group GMT Communications Partners acquired a majority stake in Melita Cable from Nasdaq-listed Liberty Global Inc and Gasan Holdings. GMT acquired the 50 per cent stake held by Liberty Global and part of a stake held by Gasan, which stayed on as a minority shareholder. Then Melita agreed with 3G Telecommunications Ltd, the holder of a 3G mobile network license, to roll out Malta's third 3G network.
"Our intentions are to help Melita Cable grow," said Stephen Wright, the new chief operations officer at Melita Cable.
"Employees here are very loyal and they want to do a good job. Everybody is willing to fight for every single customer. We see a lot of potential in the different services provided by the company." Mr Wright said. The submarine cable is just one of the major projects Melita is going to embark on to consolidate its position as a quadruple player - a communications company providing fixed-line telephony, internet access, television channels, and mobile communication. Indeed the company's efforts to roll out its mobile network are in full swing and according to the licence conditions it will be in a position to launch commercially in the coming months.
"We aim to challenge the duopoly that has kept mobile tariffs very high in Malta," claimed Mr Wright. "Melita's entry into the mobile market with its 3G licence will enable us to offer superior mobile products and service to its customers."
While the company is busy building up its mobile network, it is experiencing a strong growth in the use of its fixed-line telephony service. Asked how will fixed-line telephony and mobile telephony co-exist given that Malta has already gone mobile at the expense of fixed-line in terms of traffic and line ownership, Mr Wright said. "Fixed telephony rates did not change that much with the introduction of mobile, as the mobile tariffs are very high in Malta. Fixed telephony in Malta has only reduced through the introduction of Melita's Hello digital phone service. This has enabled customers to get great savings on their phone bills. Digital phone is being used by millions of people across Europe as reliable and affordable telephony."
Mr Wright sees growth in the TV business, as Maltese viewers still want more choice and there seems to be no saturation of the market. Its digital cable TV network is available in the great majority of Maltese homes and outlets but competition from the alternative digital terrestrial (DTTV) service from Go has spurred many Maltese to switch to the better-quality digital TV service. By 2010 analog TV services in Malta will be switched off.
Broadband internet access is also expanding and in the coming months Melita is expected to announce an increase in bandwidth for its clients.
Another exciting project is the new IPTV system installed at Mater Dei Hospital. Melita has installed interactive LCD touch screens on every bed that provide both TV channels and internet access. Patients can watch their favourite channels, check their e-mails and visit websites at leisure against a daily fee. There are plans to offer games and other entertainment. Children's wards, public areas and administrative information on Mater Dei is available to patients free of charge. Eventually doctors and nurses will be able to access information on patients from these interactive screens.
i-Tech saw one of these interactive screens in action and can confirm it is very easy to use, it provides good quality TV and an internet experience comparable to that of a home computer or laptop. Although it does not come with a separate keyboard, typing e-mails is easy with an onscreen keyboard. Payment is done through a card which is purchased from machines at the hospital. Unused credit is refunded.
Melita does not exclude that such screens will be made available to its wider client base in the near future, thus replacing the need to have a separate TV set, a set-box for TV and a modem for internet.
Melita's endeavours need a significant strengthening of its human resources and this is expected to grow by a third in the coming months.
"The additional 100 or so new recruiters will be covering all areas at Melita including, customer service, sales, marketing, IT, networks, and finance areas. Our aim is to continue to be a fully integrated company but now selling four products (quad play). We want our customers to enjoy a complete 'one stop shop' experience with the best packages at competitive prices. As a fully integrated quad player we will be Malta's only quad player that has one face to our customers. One bill, one phone call, one package," concluded Mr Wright.