PLDT eyes 6 industries for asset tracking service

The Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) is targeting six key industries for its asset tracking service called F.A.S.Track.

F.A.S.Track, or the PLDT Field Asset System for Tracking, is an application-based solution that tracks the location of a company’s field assets like vehicles, field personnel, and even goods in transit.

Eric Alberto, senior vice president of PLDT’s Corporate Business Group, said these industries include transport and logistics, utility and service, manufacturing, industrial/retail trade, security and investigation, and finance.

"Tracking assets presents a problem for many companies. Until our F.A.S.Track service came along, cost-effective solutions were hard to come by," he said.

"We want to share the key benefits of PLDT F.A.S.Track to companies who may need this kind of service. We are very confident that this service would prove to be useful and cost-effective for most companies," he added.

PLDT F.A.S.Track is powered by three global standards: Global Positioning System (GPS), a standard used in location-based system platforms that powers the Vehicle Finder Offering; Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), for the Person Finder offering and the main mode of transport for location data; and Virtual Private Networking (VPN), which securely connects F.A.S.Track customers to the PLDT-hosted system.

"Via F.A.S.Track, a company can now zero in on the location of vehicles, persons or goods in transit in real-time, thus providing greater control," Alberto said.

Through GPS and GSM triangulation technologies, the exact location of these assets on the field can be determined.

"GPS is one of the more exciting and promising technologies available and PLDT would like to promote the use of this system to companies that have not thought of using it," said Nerisse Ramos, PLDT’s first vice president for business solutions.

"We also tapped our sister company Smart for its extensive wireless infrastructure and capability for GSM triangulation to locate persons via their mobile devices. The Smart network also serves as the transmission medium for GPS location data from the remote GPS device directly to the F.A.S.Track server," she said.

PLDT F.A.S.Track offers an easy-to-use, browser-based tracking system, which means users can access it through any browsing application, ensuring delivery of accurate and non-disputable location information anytime.

It presents data in a clear digitized graphical map or in a table that pinpoints the exact locations of a company’s field assets anywhere in the country.

Tracking vehicles remotely from any base can now be done effectively and easily with the F.A.S.Track Vehicle Finder. It only takes the installation of a PLDT F.A.S.Track GPS device on each vehicle that needs to be monitored. With GPS, companies can locate vehicles with an accuracy of up to five meters from their exact location.

"Our Vehicle Finder also offers optional remote monitoring and control features that could, to some degree, immobilize the vehicle, monitor door opening and closing, overspeeding and even harsh braking," Ramos said.

The F.A.S.Track Person Finder, through GSM triangulation, addresses the need to monitor the activities of personnel and mobile workers. The more Smart base stations that detect a particular person (or cellphone), the more accurate the location information generated.