Teletipid wins 105,000 customers in 1 year

Teletipid, the country’s first pre-paid landline service has gained over 105,000 customers in Greater Metro Manila and provincial areas as of Sept. 5, just one year after it was launched by telecommunications leader Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT).

"The strong take-up of the service by PLDT subscribers proves that Teletipid has been widely accepted as an affordable convenient alternative access to postpaid landline telephone service," PLDT senior vice president for customer services Claro Carmelo Ramirez.

Ramirez said that PLDT, as the premier telecom and technology company in the country, was the first to introduce Teletipid in the telecoms market.

"We aim to set the trend in serving the consumer and facing the challenges of communications in the future," he said.

"The present economic situation in the country drove us to focus our marketing effort on this service. Teletipid offers a budget-friendly, pre-paid alternative in land lines which will greatly assist our subscribers in controlling their phone budgets and frees them from monthly bill concerns," Ramirez added.

Teletipid subscribers have the same clear connection and nationwide access as a regular landline but without the monthly subscriber fees. Customers are charged 50 centavos only per minute. Like pre-paid cellular phone service, only outgoing calls are charged on a per minute rate. Incoming calls are free of charge.

The PLDT official noted that since PLDT has the most extensive network infrastructure, connecting more than 1,000 municipalities nationwide and more than 200 countries and territories worldwide, Teletipid won’t be limited to specific areas only.

"Its users do not have to dial a special number to use it. They may dial directly the number of the party being called just like any PLDT postpaid land line phone," Ramirez explained.

To apply for a Teletipid pre-paid landline, customers may call 171 or visit a PLDT business office to check whether there are available facilities in their respective areas.

After paying the application fee, the subscriber will be given a line and a Teletipid kit, which includes a User Guide, and a free P300 pre-paid card. This card is meant to be exclusively used for a Teletipid line only.