Venezuela: Intercable digs in for 2003

04/16/2003 - <a href=www.latintrade.com>LatinTrade.com-Source: BNamericas

Venezuelan cable TV and broadband Internet services provider Intercable will concentrate on maintaining its client base this year and does not expect to invest in expansion, a company spokesperson told BNamericas. Intercable expanded to capital Caracas late last year and closed 2002 with a nationwide client base of 350,000 TV subscribers, as well as almost 20,000 pure Internet users. But plans to launch telephony service, starting in Caracas, are on hold, corporate image manager Juan Carlos Gomez said.

As a result of the two-month general strike started last December users have tended to drop the premium services Intercable offers, rather than abandoning the company altogether, he said. Corporate services have also been hit hard because of the number of enterprises forced to close down after the strike. The company now aims to ensure client loyalty by offering budget plans with lower speed access, and by formulating promotions targeted at specific user groups. Intercable, a subsidiary of US-based investment group Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst, offers cable TV in 70 cities, and Internet access in its home town Barquisimeto, as well as Maracaibo, Valencia, La Guaira, Guarenas, Maracay and Merida.