MANILA (04/10/2000) - PSINet Inc., a Washington-based ISP (Internet service provider) has acquired a minority stake in IPhil Communications Inc. as part of its global Internet supercarrier strategy.

The acquisition allows PSINet to move into the Philippine market and gives IPhil access to the numerous resources of the foreign ISP, said Fernando Contreras Jr., executive vice president and chief operating officer of IPhil.

PSINet already has 1,000 sales and marketing people in 27 countries, connected by a 3.2 terabit-capable and wholly-owned and operated fiber-optic network. The company also has 91,000 business accounts and some 1.4 million consumer, small office and carrier customers.

Contreras declined to divulge the exact amount PSINet has invested into IPhil, but said PSINet will get from 30 percent to 40 percent of the company. IPhil is expected to furnish more details on the PSINet investment later this month.

Aside from the investment, IPhil also announced its Media Access Point (MAP), a data center that will serve as a local Internet exchange, Web hosting facility for e-commerce applications and telco termination point.

The MAP will also offer Web space, Web mirroring, virtual ISP services as well as e-mail box services for companies that want to set up e-mail services similar to Hotmail or Yahoo.

"The MAP can also serve as an integration facility for ISPs as it has direct link to satellite and fiber connections, allowing ISPs to buy bandwidth and locate servers and dial-ups right away at the facility," said Contreras.

IPhil also announced a partnership with Loral Cyberstar to offer satellite access to its clients. The satellite-access provider also offers virtual private network, intranet, and multimedia content distribution services.

IPhil's first three local clients for the satellite service include ImpactNet, Surf Shop, and The Net.