Eircom expansion to focus first on UK

The immediate priority of newly named Eircom is to move into the British market, the company's group chief executive said yesterday.

Mr Alfie Kane said that Eircom was taking its first tentative steps outside the Republic and would focus first on greenfield organic growth in the UK.

Asked about the possibility of acquiring a company there, Mr Kane said "if that seems necessary we'll do it". This would be a means of accelerating organic growth or of entering a market for the first time, he said.

Telecom Eireann will be known as Eircom from Monday next. According to the company, its £6.5 million (#8.25 million) relaunch is aimed at reflecting its new status as a publicly owned company and the shift in its business from telephony to a broader range of communications services.

Introducing the company's new logo, which can already be seen on the new telephone directory and on many phone kiosks, Mr Kane said the Eircom identity would also reflect the strategic shift in the company's emphasis from the domestic market only, to Irish and international markets.

In the context of the UK, Mr Kane said the voice, Internet and data service business - providing internal phone and computer networks - were likely target areas although Eircom UK would be seeking to find a way into the mobile phone market also. "There's no question that it's a very competitive market," he said of the UK communications market in general. "But even if we only won a portion of the business, that's still a profitable business.

"What we're going to do is focus on minority markets. The portfolio of services will be the full range, but we can't be all things to everyone."

Mr Kane said Eircom saw the UK market as an extension of the Irish market.

The first move would be within the next year, a spokesman said. "We've 50 people based in the [London] Docklands area in Eircom UK assessing various possibilities. To have 50 management people there means we're serious about it."

"We want to get a target of 20 per cent of revenue in five years. That's £300 or £400 million," the spokesman added.

The company has also established two offices in the US. "It's not quite as clear as to what we do there," said Mr Kane. "We want to identify niche opportunities rather than taking too much on and giving the company indigestion."

He did not rule out a move into European markets, but said the concentration at the moment was on developing the business in Britain and the US.

While the company's security alarm business, Telecom Phonewatch, will become Eircom Phonewatch in the rebranding, the name of the Eircell mobile telephone business will remain unchanged. "Too much investment has gone into that," the spokesman said.

Telecom Internet is to become Eircom Net. However, a decision on rebranding the company's other Internet service provider, Indigo, will not be made until the end of the month when a review of the firm's multi-media business is finalised.

"We are reviewing as to how we will take it forward. We will decide pretty soon," Mr Kane said.

"If you look at the growth of the he said.

The new identity, he said, evolved from a well-established existing name. "There's a strong sense of Irishness, it works well internationally, it's succinct to say and write and it works well in front of product names.

"In addition to more accurately reflecting the company's development from a telephone company to a fully fledged communications group, Eircom provides us with maximum visibility."

The new logo, featuring an orange sphere - described as "terracotta" by the company - was developed by a Dublin-based company, the Identity Business.

In addition to promoting the brand on RTE weather bulletins and on two TV advertisements, the new branding will also be seen on some 1,600 Eircom vans and on 2,500 of the company's 4,500 public phone kiosks initially.