Blurb on Loral, Brasil, and Internet: tscn.com other major international Internet players already operate in Latin America, but most target residential users.
Brazil, by far the area's largest economy, accounts for the lion's share of regional e-commerce.
America Online Inc.(AOL .N), the No. 1 Internet service provider, is launching a Portuguese-language Brazilian site this month, challenging Universo Online, operator of the world's largest non-English-language Web site, with 500,000 subscribers.
PSINet's tactic of buying local service providers rather than opening up branches has major advantages, Kuperman said. It is faster than starting from scratch, and the acquisitions come complete with portfolios of key corporate clients as well as talented staff.
The acquisition of Argentina On Line, for example, gave PSINet access to important clients such as Ford Motor Co. (F .N) and Fiat (FIA .MI), Italian apparel group Benetton (BNG .MI) and Marriott International Inc., (MAR .N) the U.S.-based hotelier.
The other provider PSINet bought in Argentina, Netsystem, focuses on systems and connections integration, a market PSINet is also targeting.
"Hosting" -- the business of creating and maintaining Web pages to enable companies to conduct electronic commerce -- is also a forte for PSINet, which recently leased two satellite transponders from Loral Orion Inc. (LOR .N) to serve the Latin American market.
PSINet also acts as a wholesaler, selling connectivity to other Internet providers servicing residential customers and small and mid-sized companies. |
