|

Waldonet opens offices
in Zurich, London
and Warsaw
by Franco Aloisio
Local ISP Waldonet Ltd will be opening a representative office
in London later this week bringing the total number of offices
in Europe to three. The ISP also has offices in Warsaw and Zurich.
Waldonets manager director Aldo Calleja said the offices
were opened as a result of the companys increased e-commerce
business abroad. Mr Calleja said Waldonet has secured major
contracts with four foreign companies: a British distribution
arm of Honda and Mitsubishi motors; Softwire, a Zurich-based
mobile phone company; an international banking company; and
a Polish internet portal.
Mr Calleja said the Waldonets foreign business will be
further enhanced when the company concludes agreements with
a number of foreign television stations to start broadcasting
their content on the web. In fact, Waldonet users could soon
start view-ing high quality video streaming over an ADSL
connection.
Mr Calleja said that Waldonet provides also e-commerce solutions
for several local e-commerce companies which operate in fields
as diverse tourism, consultancy, goods and medical equipment.
He said local customers that have made use of Waldonets
e-business solutions have generated Lm1m worth of new business
over the past year. Waldonet yesterday also launched what it
called Maltas first internet service that is absolutely
free. Mr Calleja and David Thake explained that users will be
given a free e-mail account with unlimited access to their e-mail,
and also two hours of free browsing time every month between
3am and 6pm.
Users who want to browse for longer periods can purchase additional
hours online for Lm6 per 30 hours.
Waldonets offer is intended mainly at those who
plan to start using the internet but do not want to spend a
lot every month, Mr Calleja said.
Waldonet has been offering internet services since April 1996.
Mr Calleja said Waldonet is still the only fully digital ISP
in Malta that enables it to offer Caller ID protection to its
users. This feature allows users to ensure that third parties
do not abusively use their internet account.
Furthermore, Waldonet is also the only ISP to scan each
and every incoming and outgoing e-mail for all known viruses,
a feature that results in over 5,000 viruses being trapped and
deleted from its users mail, he said.
Waldonet and its subsidiaries currently employ 21 people. The
company is running into a third year of profitability with an
annual turnover of Lm0.5m.



|