MANILA, Philippines - Celfone in hand, Edu Manzano strides into Hard Rock Café.
”Don’t worry, Angel. Luis is a nice guy. He took after me,” Edu goes on.
Angel, of course, is Angel Locsin and Luis is Edu’s son. And of course, the conversation is make-believe. But everyone at Hard Rock Café where PLDT launched its Call All feature can hear it. The giant telecommunications company’s bigwigs are there, not to eavesdrop on Edu. They are there to mark a milestone.
The sound and the fury stems from the fact that PLDT subscribers can now call their loved ones by landline anywhere in the Philippines without paying long distance charges or membership fees.
This is because of the PLDT Bundle, which consists of an existing PLDT wired landline and PLDT Landline Plus (PLP) Second Line Sim offered free to residential PLDT landline subscribers. The PLP 2nd line SIM can be used in any open line handset and lets you make free calls to any landline number in the same local calling area.
The PLDT Call All Service comes at P850 a month or an additional P250 on your PLDT landline bill.
Through it, a Manila subscriber can call relatives in Cebu by landline without paying long distance fees. A mom in Zamboanga with a daughter studying in Manila can call and ask if her new dorm is okay. A businessman from Baguio meeting with a client in Davao can check on his inventory now and then.
Distance is no object. The phone is there to allay a parent’s fears, ease a son or daughter’s homesickness, make business run smoothly, etc. In this day and age of increased mobility, text messaging and the Internet, the soothing sound of the human voice is still worth its weight in gold.
Figures why PLDT thought of the Call All service, which targets 1.3 million residential homes all over the country.
“PLDT Call All is our way of giving our existing landline subscribers the best deal out there. They might as well get it from PLDT because we’re the leader in the industry, with the technology and expertise to offer it. That’s a benefit we want to impart to our subscribers who have been loyal all these years,” says PLDT Assistant Vice President for Acquisitions Patrick Tang.
That’s for long-term subscribers. What about first-timers aching to join the circle of people who want to stay in touch with loved ones, clients and other important persons 24/7?
New subscribers may apply for a PLDT landline with an installation fee of P1,100 to avail of the Call All bundle. The installation fee comes with a free PLDT Landline Plus Prepaid SIM with free P300 load or free caller ID unit.
Need more convincing? Call 101-328 or visit any PLDT Business Office, a PLDT Connect Patrol Booth in your nearest mall or in your neighborhood. That should do the trick.