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A PIONEERING local Internet firm recently inked a strategic partnership with a US-based Internet Protocol data communications carrier publicly listed in Nasdaq.

IPhil Communications Network Inc. tied up with global Internet "super carrier'' PSINet headquartered in Washington, D.C. As PSINet's local partner and representative, IPhil is expected to offer PSINet's products and services focused on global web hosting, e-commerce and high-speed Internet access. IPhil is now part of PSINet's Internet super carrier strategy.

What's interesting about PSINet is that the company has engineered its operations to focus specifically on Internet applications, resulting in an infrastructure optimized for Internet performance.

Another key movement includes Fernando Contreras Jr.'s assumption of IPhil's presidency from his position as executive vice president and chief operating officer. Contreras, however, refused to disclose the details of PSINet's investment in IPhil. Details, he said, will be announced next month.

Chi Kwan, president of PSINet Asia-Pacific confirmed PSINet's "minority'' share in IPhil.

IPhil announced that its focus for 2000 is likewise in line with PSINet's continuing effort to set the standards for the 21st century in the business-to-business sector. It added that with incubators, venture capitalists and various e-companies setting up their presence in the country, IPhil is working on the establishment of its Media Access Point (MAP), the company's business backbone. MAP is a local data center that will serve as a local Internet exchange, web hosting facility of e-commerce applications and telco termination point.

IPhil also revealed its joint marketing venture with Loral Cyberstar that will provide part of the satellite portion of the bandwidth of IPhil.

"We'll tap (Loral Cyberstar's) expertise worldwide at the same time it would tap our stability in the Philippine market. There would be no investment involved--just a partnership on the marketing side,'' Contreras said.

"Loral's satellite bandwidth is perfect for bulk applications where you download lots of data,'' said Miguel Paraz, chief technology officer of IPhil.

Fiber optic lines will also complement IPhil's satellite bandwidth. These will come from different sources, including PSINet which has communications infrastructure worldwide. PSINet is present in 200 countries.

"IPhil is hitting the nail on the head. In alliances, no one can be an expert because of the divergent technologies that are coming in,'' said Chito Kintanar, presidential adviser for Information Technology and Communications who was guest speaker at the IPhil relaunch.

Contreras said, however, that IPhil is not that keen on publicly listing in the Philippine Stock Exchange. The reason, he said, is that PSINet is already listed publicly.