GROWTH has brought some communication headaches to local internet service provider iiNet, which is in the process of assimilating its recent acquisition of eastern States-based ISP subscriber bases across to its internet offerings.
iiNet managing director Michael Malone said the company’s phone system was in the process of being upgraded and this could cause minor delays for its customers.
At present calls made to iiNet often receive an engaged ring tone instead of joining a call queue system. This is the result of phone system upgrading.
“Calls were getting lost in the system and our lines were getting blocked. We have more than likely over stretched the limit of our phone system. We’ve had it since 1997,” Mr Malone said.
He said that a new system was being implemented and would be up and running in three weeks time.
The surge in calls to iiNet is a likely result of a significant spike in subscriber numbers that came after several recent acquisitions.
This year the company has made three purchases of eastern States-based ISP subscriber bases that brought an extra 37,000 subscribers into iiNet.
On the back of that growth is additional WA jobs with the company looking for a marketing man-ager and additional technical and customer service support roles.
“We are in the process of hiring a marketing manager. We need to pay more attention to the resellers in the eastern States,” Mr Malone said.
The company, which recently opened its second call centre, is also expanding its network ser-vices division as a result of what it calls an “internal restructure”.
Former networks manager Ric Da Paz will leave iiNet and take his project management skills to iiNet subsidiary Chime and a Chime employee will become iiNet’s network systems manager.
“Ric Da Paz is a project manager and he saw the role come up at Chime and wanted that. Ben Turner from Chime has come in as the network systems manager,” Mr Malone said.
“There are seven people in that team but he needs an additional two people.”
Mr Malone said the company was recruiting about 10 people a month on average.
“Last year it was all broadband and in 2001 it was very quiet. We had 16 per cent growth but it was very much spread out and there were no acquisitions. This year it is all acquisitions,” he said.
And the company’s plans for next year?
“Hopefully more acquisitions.”
