PLDT unveils new visual conferencing solution

MANILA, Philippines - Telecommunications leader Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) unveiled yesterday its newest innovation in visual conferencing that will allow corporations and enterprises to enhance productivity while remaining cost-efficient.

Called PLDT Telepresence, this solution enables high-definition video and audio communication and immersive room solution for a face-to-face, in-person conferencing experience, and enables enhanced business productivity, quick-to-market opportunities, with rapid decision-making and reduced travel costs.

This innovation is a result of a partnership with Cisco Technologies and Tata Communications.

PLDT senior vice president and customer sales and marketing group head Eric Alberto emphasized the value of innovating in a manner that differentiates, saying PLDT Telepresence is a breakthrough in conferencing solutions that will certainly change the way businesses collaborate across regions and continents.

“Telepresence users globally find their systems highly utilized. Only Telepresence comes close to the face-to-face experience so crucial in business meetings, providing a real alternative whereas typical conferencing solutions have been found lacking,” he said.

With PLDT Telepresence, meeting participants are assured of the highest quality audio and video, generating clear, life-size images in fluid realistic motion and high definition spatial audio. Strategically placed hardware, fixtures and lighting renders continuity for a truly immersive two-way communication experience. It provides companies a tool for facilitating regular yet cost-effective collaboration and relationship building, and drives productivity.

Being the first and only service provider to make Telepresence available to the Philippine market, PLDT offers the PLDT Telepresence solution in two forms – Public Studio Telepresence and Private Managed Telepresence.

The first offers companies with an option to use the service on a pay-per-use basis as it will be readily available to customers upon reservation. PLDT Public Studio Telepresence room is a joint endeavor with global giant Tata Communications, which will link the Telepresence room in PLDT Makati to its expanding network of public Telepresence rooms, providing global network reach.

On the other hand, PLDT Private Managed Telepresence consists of fully-managed customer premise-based Telepresence equipment. This brings the cost-saving innovation to the level of the enterprise, allowing companies with greater volume of collaboration to benefit from dedicated Telepresence systems – whether for their intra- or inter-company collaboration needs.

PLDT first vice president and corporate business group head Nerissa Ramos pointed out that part of the PLDT Telepresence promise is the forging of key partnerships, complementing PLDT’s already advanced backbone of network infrastructure.    — Mary Ann Reyes