E-Games Merges With Level Up

After aggressively expanding its Internet café network through acquisitions (Netopia and CyBr cafes) and franchising, IP E-Game Ventures Inc. (E-Games) was seen to be aiming for the domination of the online gaming business in the Philippines. However, E-Games pulled a surprise on Feb. 14 when it revealed that it has agreed to sell its game publishing business to main rival Level-Up Inc. (LUI), the country's pioneer online gaming company. The company said the merger would result in future operational synergies and savings. 

In a press release, E-Games announced it would transfer to LUI most of its titles and assets relating to its game publishing business. In the deal, it will receive equity in LUI, a

The Senate Anti-Cybercrime Bill And The I-Cafés

The Philippine Senate, by a vote of 13 in favor and 1 against, finally approved their version of the Anti-Cybercrime Bill (Senate Bill 2796) last January 30, 2012. The bill, among the items in its Section 3 - Definition of Terms refers to "Service Provider" as:

1)  any public or private entity that provides to users of its service the ability to communicate by means of a computer system; and

2)  any other entity that processes or stores computer data on behalf of such communication service or users of such service.

Globe Telecom Is Top Mobile Internet Provider

It is in the news that Globe Telecom emerged as the most popular service provider for mobile Internet services according to Yahoo! Net Index 2011, an annual consumer study jointly conducted by Yahoo! Southeast Asia and Nielsen that tracks the trends and Internet habits of Filipinos. As of end-September last year, the Globe’s mobile browsing revenues rose to over P1.4 billion, a 64-percent increase from the previous year’s level on the back of the company’s strong portfolio of new services that promote the use of mobile Internet for social networking, search engine, e-mail services as well as entertainment through the use of mobile applications or apps.