PLDT increases bandwidth capacity of myDSL

Telecommunications giant Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) announced yesterday immediate plans to further improve myDSL by increasing its bandwidth capacity. myDSL is PLDT’s consumer broadband service that gives unlimited high speed Internet access to its residential subscribers.

"We will activate another 155 MBps of bandwidth next month to ensure that customers are provided with consistently fast and reliable broadband Internet. This is in addition to the 155 MBps available last year for a total of 310 MBps international bandwidth," PLDT senior vice president for GMM retail business group Claro Ramirez said.

It will also upgrade its subscriber management service, routers and servers as well as fine-tune all its network configurations in 2002.

In the area of customer service and technical support, PLDT is working with ePLDT (its Internet subsidiary) to develop an interactive web-based support and diagnostic system. This will allow myDSL subscribers to access the site and self diagnose the problems of their myDSL system. The website will also allow subscribers to view their billing data and pay online, and has a built in 24-hour feedback mechanism.

Furthermore, PLDT is activating another dedicated helpdesk with IVRS capability via 173 staffed with personnel specifically trained for DSL. "Value added services are ready for launching. These include the popular netgaming, packet billing, and even wireless DSL," Ramirez said.

A few months after PLDT launched myDSL to residential Internet users last year, it immediately took the leadership position in terms of subscriber take-up. During the initial roll-out of DSL service, PLDT offered its DSL service at a very low price compared to other DSL providers in the Philippines since as with any new product or technology, it was still in its learning curve. – Mary Ann Reyes