Cable TV firm SkyCable Corp. is investing P500 million in IP (Internet Protocol)-based services that includes a broadband roll-out aimed at high-growth residential and small business markets, company officials said.

“We are optimistic that the market is ready for a truly high-speed Internet service and we are investing in key areas to make this possible,” said Rodrigo Montinola, SkyCable vice president for marketing and prepaid business unit.

SkyCable recently upgraded about 10,000 subscriptions from the Zpdee DSL service to SkyBroadband as a way of launching the high-speed Internet brand.

“From our own network, we can see that 10,000 subscriptions out of the 400,000 SkyCable users give us a lot of room for growth,” Montinola said.

SkyBroadband was designed to provide up to 12mbps of bandwidth, about four times faster than existing DSL speeds, to serve a niche market demanding faster and more reliable connectivity.

To win subscribers, SkyBroadband is offering a 15-day free trial and various service packages that leverage synergies with cable TV offerings.

“We are aware of the declines in wired services and the rise of wireless services. There will always be people who will have use for the mobility that wireless Internet offers. We believe there is also a good part of the market that wants more speed, and that we can provide through cable Internet via Sky Broadband,” he said.

Industry estimates put broadband subscriptions in the Philippines at one million, out of a national population of 80 million.

SkyCable has been laying the groundwork for IP-based services for some time. In July, it said it had spent about P20 million for signal encryption to curb illegal connections and be able to offer value-added services such as voice calls using the Internet.

Rafael Aguado, SkyCable vice president for operations, said the P20 million was part of the company’s total capital expenditure of P500 million for 2008. He said the company started encrypting its signal in areas that were most prone to signal theft.

“We have covered 20 percent of Metro Manila. That includes the City of Manila, parts of Quezon City, which is a large area, and Pasig City,” he said.

The encryption program “depends on our budget, so we are done for this year, and next year, when we have more to spend, we will address other areas,” he added. Edited by INQUIRER.net