Mobile telephony operator Zapp expects this year's financial results to be at least similar with those seen in 2005, namely turnover worth 125 million dollars (98 million euros, at the current exchange rate), Piermario di Pietro, CEO of Zapp told ZF. Last year, the company posted operating profit worth 15 million dollars (12 million euros).
"We want to exceed these estimates, but it all depends on what happens in September, when interconnection taxes drop. On the one hand, our profit will go up, but, on the other, our revenues will go down," explained Pietro.
The interconnection tax is the access fee that a telecom company must pay so that its subscribers can make calls to subscribers of a rival company. The interconnection tax is set by the ANRC (National Communications Regulating Authority).
Currently, the operator has 430,000 subscribers, with another 40,000 users having a Zapp Internet Express monthly subscription (a type of monthly fee for Internet access services only), according to company officials. Pietro estimates that, by the end of the year, the number of subscribers will go up to 470,000. Company officials also specified that several thousand people are using Zapp FixTel (a hybrid fixed-mobile phone), one month after the official launch of the product.
Company officials had previously stated on several occasions that they would introduce rechargeable cards. "We started working on the infrastructure a few months ago and we will probably introduce rechargeable cards in January or February,' said Pietro. He specified that the prepaid card offer would not be mass-market. Instead, it will most likely mainly address Zapp users who want easier cost control.
"The percentage of prepaid card users will probably range between 10 and 20% by the end of next year. This percentage will grow in time, but I cannot estimate exactly by how much," Pietro added. The investment in an infrastructure that would allow the use of prepaid cards stands at several million dollars, according to company officials. The company also plans to launch a roaming facility, but Pietro would not elaborate on the subject.
Zapp is one of the five companies that are after one of the two 3G licences to be auctioned by the state in autumn.
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