Impsat is setting its own path in the corporate data market and related services. This segment, led by incumbents, is experiencing concentration times in Latin America. According to the Map of Regional Players deviced by Convergencialatina, the first five places in the turnover ranking have incumbents (Telmex, Telefónica, Telemar, Brasil Telecom and Cable & Wireless). Then comes Impsat, forecasting turnover of around US$ 220 million and US$ 240 million for the year, 10% higher than last year.

Some months ago rumors have it Impsat may go under Telefonica or Telmex; however, the firm denied so. “There is nothing in the short or mid-term”, Marcelo Girotti, Executive VP of Products and Marketing told Convergencialatina. On the contrary, the firm will consider acquisitions to supplement infrastructure, mainly, in capillarity. Goals include Silica Networks, also interesting for Datco, Millicom and Telecom Argentina, among others.

For the time being, Impsat aims at strengthening operations in the four segments it participates in: data transmission, Internet, telephony and Data Centers, the latter considered as a “strategic business”.

In the year so far, the firm has invested US$ 19 million, and before 2004 ends, it will spend other US$ 11 million. Of the total, not less than US$ 10 million will go to data centers, said Girotti. “Some 60% of the money will go to refurbish buildings already owned, while the remaining 40% will go to apps and gear”, he added. Impsat currently counts on 15 data centers in the region, spread in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, and the USA (Fort Lauderdale).

Girotti is quite upbeat as regards data centers, specially after the contract executed two months ago in Brazil with Petrobras, oil firm that will transfer IT operations to Impsat premises. Petrobras has 900 employees in the IT area. Girotti¿s optimism holds expectations for the future: “this kind of corporations are pioneers that set market trends”, he asserted. In that sense, the executive pointed some difficulties seen in several Latin American firms, who cannot afford re-payments of infrastructure in dollars, among other issues, such as power provision fluctuation. In terms of countries, Girotti pointed Chile as the most advanced region-wide as for service outsourcing. And Brazil better disposed than Argentina.

Besides, data center businesses ease traditional turns of firms: data transmission and Internet. Therefore, the firm upgrades infrastructure:

It closed a deal with Alcatel Argentina to develop a regional next generation (NGN) “core” on the 5020 platform of the French vendor. In Argentina, it will invest US$ 20 million to expand its network and deploy new nodes, so as to increase network capacity. Backbone deployment includes telephony, Internet and data provision.In Brazil, Impsat has announced investments for US$ 50 million to 2007, “though the amount may go up”, said Girotti. In Sao Paulo, Impsat has boosted capacity for its metro network, and extended infrastructure for other 37 km, so as to serve the region of Santo André, Sao Bernardo do Campo and Sao Caetano do Sul, with transmission capacity of 50 Gbps.  In long distance, the firm expanded networks interconnecting Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Belo Horizonte with transmission capacity of 80Gbps and activated the data transmission network for the Northeast. According to Girotti, Brazil “presents sound growth opportunities given future unbundling implementation, to affect growth in broadband services”. In that sense, the executive pointed the “good job” of the National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel), regulator.It will also upgrade its satellite IP platform with investments for US$ 4.5 million, thus enabling broadband Internet services in areas where there is no terrestrial infrastructure, nor reached by traditional phone operators. Services will reach Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, Peru and Ecuador.

At another pace, Impsat is also moving on with telephony. In Peru, voice services already account for 50% of its turnover, while in Argentina, they amount to 20% of the revenues. There, the firm introduced pre-paid cards under its own brand, Telemundo, some months ago. However, Girotti would like to speed up growth. “However, regulatory idleness undermines our wishes of growing in capillarity”, he shot. The executive considers Argentine legislation is stagnant or, in the best of cases, moves on to favor incumbents. As from the end of the dollar-peso parity, in January 2002, phone rates have been frozen. However, “Impsat has to pay an inflationary factor for interconnection that, in some cases, sets costs higher than the prices incumbents offer to clients”, he explained.