Worldport Communications, a developing US web and wireless application protocol (WAP) service provider, is setting up its European headquarters in Dublin and expects to employ at least 50 highly skilled technology graduates by the end of the year.
Currently negotiating for office space in Dublin, the company placed advertisements this week for two key positions in the Irish operation.
WorldPort is seeking a vice president for European sales and a vice president for European marketing. Both posts are offering salaries in a range of £190,000 to £260,000 plus stock options. The positions are being advertised in Ireland, the US and Europe.
With its headquarters in Kennesaw, Georgia, WorldPort describes itself as "a highly dynamic, rapidly growing startup" company and "the first PanEuropean web hosting and WAP service provider". Quoted on the Over The Counter (OTC) market in the US, WorldPort has a market capitalisation of about $95 million.
Expected to announce its European expansion plans within weeks, WorldPort has a cash fund of $200 million to fund the project. Europe will be the focus of the company's future development. WorldPort plans to offer a complete web hosting service portfolio including network management, Internet monitoring, disaster recovery and security solutions from its Dublin operation.
It plans to offer its service to medium and large companies, Internet Service Providers, carriers, mobile operators and resellers. It will tailor services to allow business customers to completely outsource their critical Internet operations.
The company intends to expand rapidly into European markets from its Dublin base. While sales offices will be set up in other European markets, technical and support services will be provided out of Dublin.
WorldPort has been operating in the European market since March 1998 when it acquired Enertel, the second telecoms operation in the Netherlands. It established an operation in the UK in the same year. At that time voice services accounted for about 75 per cent of its operations with data and the Internet making up the balance and the company employed about 200 people in Europe.
In December 1999 it sold its European operations to the UK group, Energis, and re-focused its operations to the Internet e-business and mobile commerce markets.
