PLDT to offer Internet TV, other converged products

2015 capex likely to go beyond allotted P39B

Manila — Telecommunications giant Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., Inc. (PLDT) will launch iflix this month and offer more converged products that include mobile, fixed line, data and content.

The company is in a transition from the traditional voice and text businesses to digital multimedia communications.

“Internet is eroding traditional businesses. It’s either we manage the transition or we take part in the process and accelerate it,”  PLDT chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan told Visayas and Mindanao journalists after the stockholders’ meeting yesterday.

“There’s going to be short-term pain, but that is where technology is headed. It’s what consumers want. So let’s get on with it,” he added.

PLDT is also reviewing its capital expenditure for this year, set initially at P39 billion, in anticipation of an increase in data traffic as a result of greater smartphone ownership.

“I think it will be North of that (P39 billion),” Pangilinan said.

He said this year’s capex will be used to further improve the PLDT network capacity, coverage and quality of service for both wireless and fixed businesses.

“(Internet) speed is important. That’s why we’re completing our 3G network by November this year,” he said.

The company also targets to complete 2,000 to 3,000 4G cellsites by the end of this year. A 5G network is seen by 2020, Pangilinan added.

Napoleon L. Nazareno, president and chief executive officer, said last year’s P34.8-billion capex was used to expand the 3G and 4G networks, extend the fiber footprint to 98,000 kilometers and modernize the fixed line network.

This year, the company’s primary focus is to expand its data businesses while managing the decline of traditional services like voice, Nazareno said.

PLDT recently invested $15 million in iflix, which will offer subscription video-on-demand that can be viewed on multiple screens.

Pangilinan said iflix will be launched in the Philippines within this month.

The company is also set to offer Smart Money in four Asian countries, Nazareno said. Smart Money will be integrated in selected Rocket e-commerce businesses.

In content, Nazareno said PLDT is shaping the multimedia landscape in the country.

He said cable television provider Cignal TV has become the largest in the country with over 868,000 customers as of March this year.

“Increasingly, you will see more of these elements being pulled together with connectivity services from the telco side of the business to deliver content, news, entertainment, and information through your mobile phones, laptops, TV screens, or tablets,” Nazareno said.

PLDT is also set to introduce LockbyMobile, a solution developed by subsidiary Voyager Innovations, Inc., in the global market.

This solution allows a user to protect his credit card or bank account by using his mobile phone to lock and unlock his accounts.

Nazareno said they were in talks with global financial service providers to introduce this solution. There’s a potential market of 13 billion cards globally.

“The execution of our digital strategy will be via in-house developed initiatives, as well as through investments and partnerships,” he said.

PLDT has a combined subscriber base of 76 million. Its net income last year declined four percent to P34.1 billion from P35.4 billion in 2013.

Nazareno said the company took a hit from price competition in the cellular business and the new digital communications services offered by over-the-top players.