OUR LEGACY

EASTERN Communications was established 131 years ago when the Spanish Government commissioned EASTERN EXTENSION to connect the Philippines to the rest of the world via undersea cable.

Within 1878, EASTERN provided the country’s first telegraphic services.
It vastly improved Spain’s governance and local commerce. It also gave Filipinos access to a fast means of communication to parts of the country and the world.

OUR CREDENTIALS

Over the years, EASTERN continued to invest in infrastructure, systems,
people and global partnerships to expand and improve its telecommunication service.
This led to the introduction of many firsts in Voice, Data and Internet innovations
in the Philippines. Most notable ones include:

• Asia-wide submarine cable connections to the Philippines in the 70s.
• Electronic Mail, Packet-Switched Data and High-Speed Data Services in the 80s.
• Managed Data, Managed Fax Services, ISDN Services and Debit Card Payphones
  in the 90s.
• Gigabit Ethernet and IP services in the new millennium.
• Liberalize Philippine telecommunications through IGF Services in the 90s.
• Customer choice in Toll and Data services.

EASTERN TODAY

Today, Eastern Communications has evolved into a full service provider of world-class telecommunication services -- Data and Internet Leased circuits, full-service Telephony and Managed Telco services. We continue to provide an array of connectivity solutions to meet the growing demands of our customers through our:

• Resilient customer access network covering Central business districts, Ecozones and IT parks;
• State-of-the-art IP core network facilities;
• Multiple peering with leading Telcos and ISPs;
• Ownership of diverse international submarine cable facilities; and

EASTERN’S FINANCIAL STABILITY

In 2007, Eastern’s top line improved by 10% increase. Internet and Data services grew by 20% and 15% respectively despite the continuous price war on broadband services, while voice services declined by 15% mainly driven by the reduction in over-all toll revenues.

In 2007, Eastern also reported a net profit after tax improvement. And, buoyed by dividend income, the Company was able to pre-terminate its medium term loans making Eastern debt free and self reliant of its CAPEX requirements from internally generated funds.

BASIS FOR GROWTH

Overall, Eastern’s remarkable profitability performance was driven mainly due  to a) focused corporate selling that increased revenues by 11% b) improved productivity c) dividend income from Eastern’s investment in submarine cable installation and maintenance operations and d) one-time gain from compromise settlement with a system provider.

By Service category, it showed mixed performance. Specifically:

• Internet services revenues grew 20% in 2007 on the strong performance of Internet Direct Services (IDS) through increase in broadband Internet subscribers. EASTERN’s Internet services now account for 47% of revenues (from 42% in 2006), while IDS now accounts for 44% (from 29%) of Eastern’s Internet services.
• Data services grew 15% in 2007 mainly due to the growth of domestic leased line services. Domestic leased line (DLLs) services grew by over 90% in 2007 but this performance was softened by the decline in revenues from international private lines (IPL) services. IPL service revenues declined by 19% due to the continuous reduction in market rates, and Eastern’s limited ability to competitively haul its international cable facilities. This problem is being addressed in 2008 with the construction of Eastern’s own backhaul facilities to the Nasugbu Cable Station of PLDT.
• Voice services revenues were stable with churn being addressed by enhancements in payment processes and improved network performance.