Friday, December 15, 2006 Telco to launch newest technology in Cebu
WITH an increase in the demand for broadband connection in major cities in Cebu, telecommunications giant Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) will soon roll out its latest technology targeted for household consumers and business establishments.
PLDT will introduce to Cebu this January its next generation network (NGN) facility that is capable of handling video, voice and data, said PLDT Cebu business zone head Vicente Dionisio Pesayco.
“This new technology will answer the needs of people from all walks of life especially as the demand for Internet connection continues to increase every year,” he said.
Pesayco said the demand for broadband connection in Cebu increased about 80 percent over that of last year.
He said that while the new NGN technology has gained popularity abroad, this would be the first time it will be introduced in the country in a “bulk-scale.”
The new facility will serve as a “one stop shop” for potential PLDT subscribers as they now have the option of including a direct satellite link (DSL) connection and video in a single telephone line, he said.
Pesayco, however, declined to reveal the cost for subscribing to the NGN technology, saying prices will be “reasonable.”.
Pesayco told Sun.Star Cebu that the new technology has already been installed in various hotels and venues of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit to provide communication linkages for all summit delegates.
Asean summit
He said PLDT has sped up its introduction of the NGN facility in November to meet the telecom requirements of delegates of Asean summit, although the meeting was postponed.
The Asean summit has been tentatively set on Jan. 8 to 13.
Pesayco said the company will not be adding additional facilities as existing ones are already “sufficient.”
PLDT also installed the required number of landlines in the major venues for the summit and is equipped with international direct dialing, international direct dialing and DSL.
Meanwhile, Globe Telecom and its wholly-owned subsidiary Innove Communications set up telecommunications facilities for the 4th Asean Business and Investment Summit (BIS), which was held in Cebu last Dec. 7 to 10.
The Asean-BIS brought together corporate leaders and other key stakeholders in the Asean region to discuss, among others, economic integration and the creation of the single common market.
“We are glad to be the communications partner of this year’s Asean-BIS. We support the efforts of the leaders of the Asean corporate sector to continuously pursue and find ways by which we can further grow the regional market and raise our level of competitiveness,” Innove enterprise business group head Jesus Romero said.
Innove provided wireless broadband Internet access through its GlobeQUEST Wireless Internet Zone service during the Asean-BIS. (MMM (with PR)
