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PLDT counters Globe’s claim

Roy — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 02:02:45 +0000

The Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) said the claim of Globe Telecom that the deal between PLDT and Digital Telecommuncations Phil. Inc. (Digitel) would result into the monopoly of the telecom industry is only Globe’s way of protecting its interest at the public’s expense. PLDT criticized Globe’s effort to stop the deal that would allow the telecom giant to take over third-ranked mobile brand Sun Cellular.

PLDT said that the acquisition of Sun would actually result in a more efficient use of network facilities, which would lead to better services at lower costs. “Globe wants to create the impression of an impending monopoly by PLDT, which is not the case,” said Ray Espinosa, regulatory affairs head of the company. “What they really want is for the government to make up for their inefficiencies.”

Earlier, Globe asked the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to intervene in the deal between PLDT and Sun Cellular operator Digitel. Globe claimed that a monopoly would emerge from this deal and this could only work for the detriment of the industry and consumers. Globe also said that the deal would give the combined entity 3.5 frequencies for every one that Globe has, creating an imbalance.

Espinosa countered that based on the data available at the NTC, PLDT is in fact 23-percent more efficient than Globe in terms of frequency use. This means PLDT, which has 45 million subscribers, need more frequencies than Globe. He said Globe should instead allow market forces to work and let the consumers decide for themselves which is the better network.

With the claim that the PLDT-Digitel would give them 70 percent control of the market that would eventually kill competition, Espinosa said that at the end of the day, it all boils down on to which network can offer the better service, regardless of the size of the company.

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Globe asks NTC to intervene in the PLDT-Digitel deal

Roy — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 21:37:16 +0000

Globe Telecom, in its letter to the National Telecommunication Commission (NTC), is asking the agency to take a look, and intervene, in the recent acquisition of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) of a majority stake of Digital Telecommunications Phils. Inc. (Digitel). Globe warned that the PLDT-Digitel is threatening to free competition and gravely places at risk the public good, because other significant market influence of PLDT as a result of the deal.

Atty. Rodolfo Salalima, acting as counsel for Globe, referred to Republic Act No. 7925 or the new Telecoms Policy Act, which was enacted into law on March 1995 because of the need for the country to liberalize and demonopolize and to veer away from the monopoly of the dominant carrier which, because of its dominant clout, power, and influence, constricted and stifled, instead of led, the growth and expansion of public telecommunications services in the country.

Salalima quoted the then Senator John Osmena in his sponsorship speech of Senate Bill 11 (which is now RA 7925) that “our telecommunications system has been cited as backward, inadequate, and a major constraint to the global competitiveness of our industries.”

“(NTC) must intervene and act now. It cannot and must not shirk from its legal obligation to intervene in the PLDT/Digitel deal and regular, if not forestall, the deal’s grave implications and impact on free competition and, in the long term, the common good. The inherent police power of the state can and must also be utilized for the common good,” he added.

Salalima stressed that the NTC must start leveling the playing field now in the name of free competition or risk a return to the monopoly of old and precisely abandoned by RA 7925, adding that PLDT’s cellular market share, because of the deal, has now grown to 70 percent, while that of Globe is 30 percent.

PLDT recently acquired 51 percent of Digitel, which owns the Sun Cellular brand, from the Gokongwei Group, and hopes to purchase the remainder from small shareholders during a mandatory tender offer.

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Eastern Communications receives ISO 9001:2008 certification

Roy — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 21:33:34 +0000

The country’s telecommunications pioneer that provides landline, data, Internet and broadband services Eastern Communications, announced that it has received the International Organization for Standardization ISO 9001:2008 certification for its quality management system.

The ISO 9001:2008 is an international recognition of standards that defines quality. Receiving this certification is an indication that the organization conforms to a quality management system, which can consistently provide a product or service that meets customer and applicable regulatory requirements.

Eastern Communications is the first telecom company in the Philippines to receive the certification for its entire system of operations. Eastern directors for QA, regional sales and customer care Bernie Bernardino said that the certification means assurance that Eastern’s products and services conform only to the highest international standards in the industry.

“The achievement of the ISO 9001:2008 certification is indeed a major milestone for Eastern Communications, as it is the only major telecommunications company in the country today that has this recognition from the International Organization for Standardization in all its sales, network and support functions,” he said.

Bernardino said the certification was not received overnight. It took nearly a year to accomplish with Eastern’s certification partner, TÜV SÜD, an international service corporation focusing on consulting, testing, certification, and training, represented by its auditor, Lance Xavier Dy.

Dy said that there are around 700 companies from the public and private sectors and abroad comprising international and multinational business have received ISO 9001:2008 certification. “I hope Easter Communications continues to improve and engage in ISO 9001 as a culture rather than mere compliance to the international standard,” he added. “The certification should help the company strive for greater heights.”

Bernardino said, “The certification introduces the new world-class brand of Eastern Communication today as one of our competitive advantages. It demonstrates further our continued commitment to the highest level of quality management and design to ensure the delivery of quality telecommunications solutions and services.” He added that the certification also means Eastern is committed to innovating on the way it serves its customers and greater efficiency in all its vital operating areas.

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PLDT assured market would still be competitive after acquisition of Digitel

Roy — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 04:12:21 +0000

The Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT downplayed fears that its takeover of rival Digitel Telecommunications Philippines Inc. would hinder competition in the local telecommunications industry. The telecom giant in fact said that the PLDT-Digitel merger would even be beneficial to the industry and would bring in better services and more competitive prices for consumers.

PLDT’s Manny Pangilinan said, “We will keep Digitel as a separate company. This is not a merger… more importantly, we will maintain the unlimited and bucket-priced services of Sun Cellular.” He assured that the PLDT group will officially set itself to developing widely accessible, high-speed internet. “We will make a formal commitment to the government for the benefit of consumers,” he added.

Pangilinan said that the acquisition of Digitel will help PLDT roll out broadband services to 95 percent of the country “in three years.” At present, only two-thirds of the Philippines has high-speed internet access.

The PLDT statement came out in response to the concerns raised by some consumer groups and lawmakers that the merger would allow the telecom giant to market prices, ending the “price wars” that have helped keep telecommunication services at affordable rates.

Rival Globe Telecom of the Ayala group even asked the government “to look into the deal” between PLDT and Digitel. Globe said that regulators should consider ordering PLDT to relinquish some of its redundant frequencies following its takeover of Digitel’s operations.

Pangilinan replied that this should only be done in the event of a scarcity of frequencies for new players in the market, which is not the case. He said, “Our frequencies are enough for the subscribers we have.”

After acquiring Digitel, PLDT will acquire 67 percent of industry revenues. Seven out of 10 mobile users in the Philippines will also be on its network.

Pangilinan, however, admitted that due to the size of the agreement, which is valued at P74.1 billion, a state review may be “warranted.” He assured the government though that the market would remain competitive.

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BF-GF ad pulled out by McDonald’s

Roy — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 08:55:27 +0000

Possibly fearing that theirs could go the way of Jan-Jan’s case and escalate into another media frenzy, McDonald’s Philippines immediately pulled out its add which was tagged by some as the “BF-GF commercial” after the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) called for them to stop airing the ad.

Although there were really no cries of child abuse nor exploitation, but the fast food chain giant deemed it is best to pull out the 30-second commercial from the air after some Catholic Church officials warned that ad could send wrong message and inculcate negative values to children.

In the said commercial, the little girl asked the boy if she was already his girlfriend, to which the boy replied no. He said girlfriends are too demanding and asking for so much. But when the little girl said that all she wanted was french fries from McDonalds, the boy’s face flashed and he changed his as he counted his coins in his pocket totaling P25, which is the price of the fries.

Vice President for Marketing Margot Torres of McDonald’s Philippines said that they have decided to pull out the TV ad because they respect the call of Caloocan Bishop Deogracias Iñiguez. She added, “So by Wednesday, a different McDonald’s ad should be seen on TV.”

Bishop Iñiguez said that they were happy that McDonald’s listened to their plea and that it agrees with the sentiment and the reflection of the church about the commercial. The bishop also said earlier, “The two children are not even at the right age for this kind of relationship… It might also pave the way for us to lose sight of the good ways of shaping the values of our children.”

Executive Secretary of CBCP on Family and Life, Fr. Melvin Castro said earlier that the commercial is “very shallow” and “cheapens human relationships.” He also said that, “If the ad attempted to teach commitment, it failed because it was too superficial to point to a packet of french fries as the basis of a relationship.”

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SMC prepares for its foray in the telco industry

Roy — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 01:35:54 +0000

The corporate food and beverage giant San Miguel Corp. (SMC) is seriously mulling entry into the highly competitive field of telecommunication. The company plans to create a holding company for all its telecommunications interest as the conglomerate prepares for its grand entry in this field, according to a top official of the company. SMC president and COO Ramon S. Ang confirms “That is the intention, to create a holding company for our telco business.”

The company have already invested P9 billion so far in the local telecommunications business and plans to put in even more in order to build what it describes as a “next generation” network that will provide the best service and cheapest rate in the country. Ang emphasized that their business model for telecommunications guarantees one that will be better than what the other companies are giving.

SMC, at present, owns 41.5 percent of Liberty Telecom, 100 percent of Bell Telecom and 40 percent of Easter Telecom. Ang assured that they will not be wasting money, time and effort to establish a complete network that will just copy what is being offered in the market right now. “It will be a next generation, long-term evolution, mobile broadband, which is still being planned by others in the industry,” he said.

What is important right now, Ang noted, is to have a level-playing field in the telco industry. “But what I can assure you is that our service will be the best, no dropped calls, and very affordable rates. We will not waste resources if we will not do it right,” he said.

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Globe continues providing low-cost rates for families of OFWs

Roy — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 01:00:06 +0000

In its effort to alleviate the plight of Filipino families who have love ones working abroad, Globe Telecom announced that it will continue to provide more affordable rates for international services.

Head of Overseas Filipino Communities and Alliances, Consumer Marketing of Globe Telecom Richie Sison said “In these times of uncertainties in other parts of the world, we recognize the need to stay in constant touch with friends and relatives who are overseas, with more options available, making IDD calls from the Philippines to the world has become even more affordable.” He added, “The mobile phone is still the most immediate way of contacting loved-ones abroad and we are making our international services available to ease the worries of our kababayan both here and abroad.”

The Globe IDD Sakto Calls promo will be maintained until April 30 to allow families of OFWs more flexible talk time with their loved-ones abroad. The IDD Sakto Calls give callers one of the lowest IDD rates in the country. For just 15 centavos (P0.15) per second, families here can call their loved-ones in United States, Hawaii, Canada, Hong Kong, China, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Australia, Taiwan, Thailand, Kuwait, Equatorial Guinea, United Kingdom, and Saudi Arabia. These are mostly places with great numbers of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs). In other countries, the rate is 30 centavos (P0.30) per IDD second. These rates are about half the price of regular IDD calls.

Globe IDD Sakto Calls requires no registration. Subscribers only need to dial 12800 + country code + area code + phone number to call an international landline. For international mobile phone numbers, just dial 12800 + cellphone number. Without the 12800 prefix though, they will be charged with the regular IDD rate of US$0.40 per minute. This service is best for quick hi’s and hello’s and in giving updates and other short messages because of its exact, pay-per-use per second charging.

Other low-cost Globe products are tipIDD card for those who want the best per-minute rates, available in denominations of P25, P100, and P200. It offers rates as low as P2.5 per minute to US, Canada and Hong Kong.

For those who want to keep in-touch via text messaging, there’s ITXT50 which gives subscribers 100 international texts good for 10 days to 190 destinations worldwide for just P50. To register for the service, just text ITXT50 to 8888.

Globe Telecom is relentless in growing partnerships to provide the world-widest coverage and the most affordable offers to its subscribers. Globe currently has more than 25 international call and text products and offers in 17 countries that give lower rates for calls to the Philippines, and over 600 roaming partners from all over the world.

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PLDT to buy majority stake in Digitel

Roy — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 10:48:27 +0000

The Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) seeks to regain its dominance in the telecommunication industry as it buys competing company Digital Telecommunications Philippines Inc. (Digitel).

PLDT said it forged a deal to acquire 51.55% of the third-ranked Digitel valued at a value of P69.2 billion ($1.6 billion). The deal includes a share swap and the assumption of debt and advances by Digitel from its parent JG Summit Holdings Inc. It is expected to be completed by the end of June.

Jose Mari Lacson, analyst at Campos, Lanuza & Company Inc. said, “PLDT is not out to kill the competition, but growth of Globe will be limited,” noting that PLDT said it intended to keep Digitel’s cheap call and text offerings. Lacson said that after the deal, PLDT’s mobile phone market share would rise to 70%

Digitel had shaken the mobile phone market with cheap cal and text packages when it introduces its Sun Cellular brand, which prompted PLDT and second-ranked Globe Telecoms to follow suit. The price war had slowly eroded telecoms’ margins in a saturated mobile market, with penetration at around 90% against population estimated to be nearing 100 million.

According to PLDT, the transaction, which involves its acquisition of 3.277 billion Digitel common shares from JG Summit and certain other parties, would result in cost efficiencies and improve network usage. The telecommunications giant said it would spend more in 2011 and 2012 to grow its broadband business amid stiff competition.

PLDT said it will make a mandatory offer to minority investors to buy the rest of Digitel, by giving shareholders an option to sell at a discount to market at P1.60 apiece, or swap their holdings for PLDT shares at a premium of P2,500 per share.

Chairman Manuel Pangilinan said JG Summit would hold about 12% in PLDT after the transaction, while stakes of existing PLDT shareholders would be diluted.

“JG Summit is the ultimate winner. They get a good price for an investment that has not really delivered in terms of dividends,” Lacson said.

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AirAsia Inc. sets hub of Philippine operations in Clark

Roy — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 11:29:40 +0000

Clark airport in Angeles City Pampanga beats Subic International Airport in Subic, Zambales in bidding for the right to host the hub operation of AirAsia Inc. in the Philippines. AirAsia, Inc., an affiliate of Malaysia’s AirAsia Group, picked Clark as the base of its operation in the country. It will have its office at the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport when it starts operating international flights from the airport in the fourth quarter of 2011.

AirAsia Berhad chairman Tony Fernandez said that their choice of Clark is in line with the airline company’s commitment to developing transportation and tourism hubs outside Manila. Chief executive officer Marianne B. Hontiveros of AirAsia Inc. said, “This is part of our plan to contribute to the development of the country as whole.” She added, “AirAsia Inc. is excited to start contributing to the economy of Clark and the rest of the country by boosting tourism and offering job opportunities to Filipinos.”

The Clark airport is located north of Manila and is accessible to 23 million people from the National Capital Region, Central and Northern Luzon. Incidentally, it is also where the airline’s sister company, AirAsia Berhad has been flying to and from Kuala Lumpur and Kota Kinabalu since 2005.

Hontiveros said, “We plan to make Clark the hub for flights to popular destination including Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, Thailand, Korea and Japan,” adding that it would make travelling much easier and more affordable for tourists and overseas Filipino workers.

AirAsia Inc. is owned by Hontiveros, Antonio O. Cojuangco Jr. and Michael L. Romero who has total shares of 60 percent, while the 40 percent is owned by AirAsia Berhad. AirAsia Inc. in Clark will become the 13th hub of the AirAsia Group in the region.

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100% interconnection between Globe and BayanTel

Roy — Sat, 18 Dec 2010 17:08:03 +0000

After long talks, finally, the two telecommunications company, Globe Telecom and Bayan Telecommunications (BayanTel) are 100 percent interconnected in areas that they both serve in the Philippines following the opening of local links for the provinces of Western and Northern Samar.

Last December 10, the commercial activation of local interconnections between Globelines, the wireline service of Globe, and BayanTel for Northern Samar and Western Samar took effect. Now, subscribers of both BayanTel and Globelines, within the provinces of Northern Samar and those within Western Samar can call each other locally with being charged for long-distance rates.

Areas where both Globe and BayanTel have common operations are in the National Capital Region and the provinces of Iloilo, Cebu, Eastern Samar, Southern Leyte, Misamis Oriental, Negros Occidental, South Cotabato, Albay, Davao Del Sur, Agusan Del Norte, Camarines Sur, Camarines Norte, and Sorsogon.

The NTC or National Telecommunications Commission, mandates compulsory interconnection of authorized public telecommunications carriers under Republic Act 7925. The act aims to create a universally accessible and fully integrated nationwide telecommunications network to encourage more infrastructure investments from the private sector that would benefit the consumers.

Globe national carrier relations head Melvin Santos said, “We are happy to have achieved full interconnection with another telecommunications company for the good of residents and businesses in these provinces. This is a positive sign that even industry competitors can work together to serve public interest and spur the domestic economy with relevant and cost-effective telecommunication services.”

Globe earlier said that it was bent on getting more interconnection agreements with rival telecommunications companies as part of its efforts to expand the company’s network and reach more subscribers, and at the same time, spur development in key growth areas outside the National Capital Region.

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All-in-one load bundle from Smart

Roy — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 00:49:10 +0000

With online social network getting more popular these days, leading mobile communication giant Smart Communications offered a new product that will allow prepaid subscribers to update their social network accounts like Friendster, Twitter and Facebook, in its new all-in-one load bundle.

The new service from, which is called Smart Buddy’s AllTxt Combo Plus, is a perfect bundle for people who loves to update and stay connected with their friends and relatives through these popular online network community, can do so for only as low as P25 per day, including the calling and sending of SMS and MMS.

Danilo Mojica, Smart wireless consumer division head, has this to say, “Mobile subscribers these days no longer just call or text to keep in touch with their friends and family or to share news – they also update their status, write on ‘walls’ and ‘tweet’ too. Most would wish that they could do this on-the-go, on their cellphone, just like texting without having to get on the Internet. Ideally, it could also work on any phone, even the older handsets, and that it wouldn’t cost too much on top of the staple call and text package. The Smart Buddy AllTxt Combo Plus makes all this possible.”

He added that the addition of ‘e-Txts’ or the service that allows subscribers to send updates to social networks via SMS, to the traditional call and text ‘bucket’ services “is a first of its kind in the world and creates for Smart the opportunity to make our subscribers’ Smart Buddy SIMs more relevant to them by offering more connectivity options.”

The new AllTxt Combo Plus gives their prepaid subscribers a cost-effective method of updating their social network accounts since it does not require connecting to the Internet, and it even works even on older, 2G handsets. It comes in six variants, each one tailored to a specific budget and a preferred social network.

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Phone service for those without cellphone

Roy — Wed, 26 May 2010 14:21:55 +0000

Smart Communications launched recently a new service which was aimed to provide mobile communications to Filipinos who still do not have cellular phone. The new service called the Talk ‘N Text Barangay Phone, is being offered through a wireless telephone set powered by a Talk ‘N Text SIM card. It allows users to call any landline or mobile phone anywhere in the country for as low as P3 for a three minute.

The Talk ‘N Text Barangay Phone may be used by people who needs to make a call either to a landline or a mobile number but do not have their own cell phone. As such, it will be deployed in neighborhood sari-sari stores and other high traffic locations like public markets or transportation terminals, and possibly even to ambulant vendors nationwide.

Smart chief wireless advisor and co-founder Orlando Vea said, “Offering quality services to what they now call ‘the base of the pyramid’ is built into SMART’s DNA. This is where and how we grew. Offering the Talk ‘N Talk Barangay Phone is a natural progression of that strategy.”

Aside for individuals without cell phones, the service would also benefit even those who has their own mobile phones in emergency cases and their phone battery is dead or has no load credit.

To use the Talk ‘N Text Barangay, users just need to buy the micro ‘bucket’ load at denominations of P3 for a 3-minute call, P6 for a 6-minute call,or P12 for a 12-minute call to any number within SMART’s network of over 42 million subscribers nationwide. For calls to landline or mobile numbers within another network would costs P6 for a one minute call, or P12 for a two minute call.

It is also another businesses opportunity for enterprising individuals who wants to provide such service in their area. They just need to buy a pre-loaded P3,000 worth of e-load, the sale of which in sachet size gives them a healthy margin. The set, which is free, comes in a box complete with a phone kit, a Talk ‘N Text SIM pack, a retailer kit, and ‘marketing’ collaterals such as stickers and posters.

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Easycall ventures into broadband business

Roy — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 19:53:30 +0000

Easycall Communicates Philippines Inc., the former paging leader in the Philippines, gets a boost from local technology firm Global E-Business Solutions Inc. as the company hiked its stake in Easycall to push it to pursue ventures in the wireless broadband Internet sector.

In their disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), Easycall said that its board has approved an increase in its paid-up capital by P46.6 million which would be fully subscribed by the Global E-Business Solutions. This subscription would hike the latter’s stake in Easycall to over 72 percent from the previous 60 percent.

Easycall told the PSE, “In compliance with the condition of the National Telecommunications Commission for the company to increase its paid-up capital ‘not through loan,’ the board approved the increase in the subscribed and paid-up capital of the company by P46.57 million.” This will bring the company’s authorized capital to P150 million.

Global E-Business’s infusion would come by way of private placement involving 46.57 million shares with a par value of P1 apiece, according to Easycall. “The capital to be raised by this private placement is to be used to fund the expansion and enhancement of the broadband wireless services and the utilization of the company’s nationwide wireless data communication network and other data services,” the company said.

Easycall was originally organized in 1989 as a telecommunications firm. It pioneered the use of pagers in the country and was the leader it this industry. For the third quarter of the year, the company reported that it earned a net profit of P1.42 million, swinging from a P1 million loss in the same three-month period last year.

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San Miguel acquired P2 billion loan from Landabnk

Roy — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 04:04:33 +0000

The San Miguel Corp. (SMC), the country with most diversified conglomerate, has been extended a P2 billion loan by the state-owned Land Bank of the Philippines (Landbank). The loan would be used by SMC to finance its expansion program.

SMC senior vice president for treasury Sergion Edeza and Landbank first vice president Jed Reyes signed the loan agreement last December 1. The proceeds of the loan would be used to partially finance the requirements of the food and beverage business of the company.

With a workforce of 15,344 employees, SMC is the country’s biggest employer at present. It also provides indirect employment to auxiliary service contractors, distributors, sari-sari stores, contract growers, haulers, other service providers, and third party suppliers nationwide.

It has a wide range of product portfolio, from beer, hard liquor, non-carbonated non-alcoholic beverages, processed and packaged food products, meats poultry, dairy and a number of packaging products. SMC is the largest publicly listed food, beverage, and packaging company, not only in the Philippines, but in Southeast Asia.

The company’s food operations included the production and marketing of fresh, ready-to-cook and processed chicken, pork and beef, milk, butter, cheese, margarine, ice cream, flour, pancake mix, snack foods, coffee, cooking oil as well as animal and aquatic’ feeds.

For its part, Landbank supports companies in the countryside that helps stimulate the economic activities in their areas as their operations are integrated into the economies of the regions. It granted SMC the loan because it believes the food and beverage business of SMC supports the agricultural sector through the purchase of sugar, molasses, cassava and corn.

Aside from food and beverages, SMC has also diversified into power, mining, and utilities by buying into electricity giant Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), oil giant Petron corp., among others.

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Demand for bluetooth headsets growing

Roy — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 22:46:39 +0000

Because of the continuous growth of the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry in the Philippines, so are the related businesses and products that go along with them. One of them is the headset, particularly the blue-tooth headset.

GN Netcom, Denmark-based and the world’s largest manufacturer of hearing aids and headsets, is very much aware of this and have in fact capitalized on the growing demands for their product. The company has already dominated the domestic market and is supplying 60% of the headsets used in the BPO sector.

The Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT), Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) and the Ayala Group, are just some of the GN clients. Woldtext Systems Inc., GN’s local distributors said, “we want every executive and every middle manager to use Jabra headsets.”

GN Netcom Regional Managing Director for South Asia Ralph Ede explained, “Jabra’s high quality wireless headsets are targeted towards executives and personnel who need to answer landline calls away from their desks toggle calls from mobile phones and softphones using only a single handset.”

Jabra now has 30% market share worldwide on contact center and office headsets, and 20% of the market in headsets for the mobile market. Per GN’s forecast, the global market of headsets in 2009 is to be worth around $2.5 billion. It further followed that this is growing rapidly at 17% every year.

This is attributed mainly for the continuous demand for Bluetooth-enabled and wireless products, particularly in the office markets. Because 95% of office workers spend part of their time on the go, and majority miss important calls because there are away from their desk.

GN also noted that 86% of enterprises have personnel who spend over one day per week out of the office. These would all benefit from headsets that could increase their mobility and merge multiple devices for easier communication management.

The company is optimistic that the demand for Bluetooth headset will continue to grow because of increased mobility, as well as the adoption of unified communication solutions and increase in home office workers.

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Lower call and text rates to selected countries from Globe

Roy — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 04:54:24 +0000

To allow local residents more opportunities to spend more time talking with their families and friends abroad, Globe Telecom has reduced its international voice and text rates to major destinations by as much as 87%.

Alan Supnet, Globe head for overseas Filipino communities (OFC), said that the company is heeding the call of its OFC clients to keep in touch with their loves ones, especially this holiday season giving them an affordable way to communicate.

The regular call rate before was 40 cents or approximately P20 per minute for overseas calls, with the discounted rate, this was brought down to as low as P2.50 per minute, to selected countries at least.

Call rate isn’t the only one that was made affordable, cost of international SMS or text messaging was also brought down by Globe. It now cost P5 per ISMS to top 50 destinations. Globe postpaid and prepaid subscribers, as well as TM subscribers can already avail of this service. There is no need to register, enter access code, or use special cards to avail of the special rate.

Globe also designed previously, various products and services to help OFW families maintain strong communication ties with each other. Like the Globe tipIDD card where customer can call the US, Hong Kong and Canada for only P2.50 per minute; Singapore, China, Malaysia, South Korea, and Taiwan for P5 per minute; Australia, Thailand, Italy, UK and Japan for P8 per minute; and Saudi Arabia and UAE for P10 per minute. Both prepaid and postpaid subscribers can use the said card.

Other products of Globe that allows affordable communication for OFW families are the Globe IDD Suki load and the IDD Sakto Calls. IDD Suki load can be bought from autoload retailers, a P20 load is already equivalent to a five-minute call to the US, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore and P30 load will allow for three-minute call to Saudi Arabia UAE and Kuwait.

Sakto Calls on the other hand, charges on a per second basis. This is best for subscribers who are really budget conscious, and doesn’t really stay long on the phone.

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Mobile email launched by Smart

Roy — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 21:23:37 +0000

Here’s another first from the Smart Communications, the country’s leading wireless services provider. The company launched recently the beta phase of its mobile email, the first daily flat-rate, unlimited push email solution in the country.

This new offering is meant to serve the consumer market, and to work on all handset models, whether they are old or advanced. Danilo Mojica, division head of Smart wireless consumer division, said “In the same way that Smart’s innovative but affordable offerings made the use of voice and SMS ubiquitous, we would like to turn email into another universally available service from which the everyday Filipino may benefit.”

The Smart mobile email gives all subscribers of the company, postpaid or prepaid, and regardless of what handset they use, an easy and inexpensive access to email through their mobile phone. The company said it will be available for a flat, affordable rate and it will be as easy as text messaging. Subscribers can read and send emails while on the road.

“Putting email in the hands of every Filipino in the most affordable and convenient way is an important part of our vision of “Internet for All”, or to bring the benefits of the Internet to more people,” Mojica added.

With a flat rate of P20 per day, subscribers can register up to two email accounts. Once registered, they can access them through their mobile phones and also allow them to have their emails automatically sent to their handset from their email accounts. Accepted providers at present are Gmail, WindowsLive!, and Hotmail, Facebook via RSS feeds, among others. Yahoo! is expected to be available by the first quarter of 2010.

If you want to avail of the service for 30 days or a whole month, you can get it for only P199. And if you are an entrepreneur and needs to keep up with your business, you can also avail of the service because Smart’s mobile email also provide access to email accounts provided by local ISPs with their own POP/IMAP-compliant email servers.

Smart subscribers may set up their mobile email anytime, anywhere, via quick and easy procedure done in a few clicks on their handset. Prepaid subscribers will have their prepaid credit automatically deducted for the services, while postpaid subscribers will have their subscriptions included in their billing.

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NDC plans to borrow funds to acquire controlling stake on MRT

Roy — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 03:23:54 +0000

The National Development Co. (NDC) is planning to avail of a loan from private banks in order to raise at least $300 million by yearend. NDC will be buying a portion of the controlling of stake of Land Bank of the Philippines (LandBank) and the Development of the Philippines (DBP) in Metro Rail Transit Corp. (MRTC). DBP president Reynaldo David said that the acquisition will soon be finalized and that they’re “almost there.”

The NDC needs to raise the $300 million which will serve as initial payment for the preferred shares of Landbank and DBP in the 17-kilometer MRT 3 along EDSA. DBP executive vice president Theresa Quirino said the NDC may just borrow from banks instead of raising money through the issuance of bonds. “NDC may do it through a syndicated loan,” she said.

Ma. Lourdes Rebueno, NDC general manager, said there is nothing final yet although they are still studying their options.

A 75% controlling stake in MRT has been acquired by Landbank and DBP early this year at an estimated shared cost of $800 to $900 million. However, they are required by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to sell their holdings within the year.

After the initial $300 million payment, Quirino said NDC would eventually acquire the controlling stake of the two government financial institutions.

The BSP and the Department of Finance reminded Landbank and DPB that they should not place a large portion of its investible funds in one venture. These may not give returns in short period and they might end up at a loss, or compete with the private sector.

The Philippine government is spending $130 million on equity rental payments, maintenance rental payments and operating and administrative costs per year. An amount that is too big compared to its annual revenues of P39.56 million.

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PLDT launched 5th Innolab in Subic Freeport Zone

Roy — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 21:37:40 +0000

The countryâ€™s leading provider of voice, data and video telecommunication services, Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT), has opened its fifth Innovation Laboratory at the Subic Bay Freeport Zone. The P20-million Innolab facility was built to help boost the information technology (IT) sector in the ecozone.

The four other Innolab sites of PLDT in the Philippines are in Manila, Cebu, Clark and Davao.

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) administrator Armand Arreza said, â€œPLDTâ€™s Innolab marks a new foundation for Subic Bayâ€™s emergence in the knowledge economy.â€ He added, â€œWith PLDT as partner, the Subic Bay Freeport can now shift from labor-intensive industries to knowledge-based industries, guided by the emerging trends in the IT sector.â€

PLDT officials said the Innolabs have been a venue for the development and testing of innovative products and business solutions in collaboration with customers. These innolabs have already accommodated more than 2,000 visits from various industries, since the first one was launched in 2003.

PLDT first vice-president Nerrisa Ramos said the PLDT Innolab features â€œproofs of conceptâ€ of breakthrough technologies that are being offered by PLDT. â€œSoon everyone will realize that Subicâ€™s IT capabilities is as good as what is offered n Manila, Cebu, Clark and other renowned BPO destinations in the country,â€ she said.

PLDT said, it is now offering various â€œcutting edgeâ€ IT solutions in the fields of hotel and restaurant management, manufacturing, retailing, franchising, real estate, and BPO.

â€œThe Internet is playing a huge role in todayâ€™s management of businesses. With PLDT solutions, people can monitor and make business directions even from afar, and even generate cost-savings, as they employ these technologies that streamline business processes,â€ Ramos said.

The theme of the Subic Innolab launch was â€œFully Loaded,â€ which best describes the number of resources, such as best class infrastructure, that are employed by the lab.

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British companies expressed interest to invest in RP

Roy — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 00:21:34 +0000

Trade Secretary Peter Favila and President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo were in London recently to attend the Emerging Markets Summit, where he had a meeting with several British companies who have expressed interest to invest in the Philippines, either via fresh infusions or the expansion of their existing projects. Areas of interests include mining, energy and business process outsourcing (BPO) sectors.

The companies that expressed interest in the country included mining companies Rio Tinto and Metal Exploration Plc, energy firm Bronzeoak and telecommunications company T-Mobile.

A Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) official said, â€œRio Tinto expressed strong interest to come to the country and explore on opportunities especially in copper and nickel. Bronzeoak highlighted its future plans in the Philippines, on which Secretary Favila also spoke of talks with several local investors and banks who are interested to join the project.â€

It would be Rio Tintoâ€™s first business in the country should they decide to invest here. It has operations in parts of Australia, North America, South America, Asia, Europe and Southern Africa, where it produces copper, aluminum, diamonds, gold, iron, ore, energy products and industrial minerals like titanium dioxide, borates, salt and talc.

Metals Exploration, on the other hand, has already set its foot in the country via mining operations at the Runruno mines in Nueva Vizcaya. â€œThe ongoing development of the Runruno gold-molybdenum projects was discussed, as was the status of the companyâ€™s permit application,â€ said Metals Explorations during the meeting with Arroyo and Favila. They have been involved in the Runruno project since 2005.

Meanwhile, T-mobile, in their meeting with Arroyo said that â€œthe company is eyeing the Philippines to outsource not only its customer service operations, but also in exploring possibilities of outsourcing some its operations.â€

For Bronzeoak, it is already present in the country via the ethanol refiner San Carlos Bio-Energy Inc. where it has a significant stake. The San Carlos Bio-Energy has an integrated facility that has cane milling plant with throughput capacity of 1,500 metric tons of sugarcane daily, as well as a co-generation power plant that can produce around 8 megawatts of power. It also houses a distillery plant that can generate some 30 million liters of anhydrous ethanol a year.