Love & changing lifestyles in the age of PLDT Call All, MyDSL

MANILA, Philippines – TV host and actor Edu Manzano recently talked on his new PLDT Call All phone to his son Luis’ girlfriend actress Angel Locsin, joking that “Ang katigasan ng ulo niya minana (His hardheadedness he inherited) from his mother, but yung talent niya minana niya (his talent he inherited) from me!”

After I heard Edu say those words, I asked him about his rumoured 2010 election plans and the much-anticipated possible wedding to his girlfriend Pinky Webb; he just laughed out loud and requested that he be allowed to explain the newest product of PLDT which he claims not only changes our modern hectic lifestyles for the better, but enhances the quality of people’s romantic lives as well. 

In a new example of innovation, PLDT officers led by senior vice president Ernesto “Eric” Alberto, vice president Becky de Guzman, assistant vice president Raul S. Alvarez, Retail Business Group head Dan Ibarra, AVP Patrick Tang, AVP Adolfo Lucas and others recently launched its new “PLDT Call All” product at Hard Rock Cafe in Makati.

Celebrity endorser Edu Manzano said that for an additional P250 per month on your existing residential PLDT landline, you can get a new landline with its own SIM card. If we use this second landline or its SIM on a cell phone, you can be anywhere in the Philippines — whether Cebu, Davao, Iloilo or Tawi Tawi — and call any PLDT landline in Metro Manila for free. This is ideal for people who often travel outside Metro Manila or have kin in the provinces; also for people often on the move in the metropolis who can use the second line SIM in his or her extra cell phone unit.

2 million landlines, 20% with Internet, 55-60% have cellphones

Eric Alberto said PLDT now has 1.3 million landlines, the highest number in the Philippines. He pointed out that with a total national population of 90 million people, and with each household averaging five persons, the Philippines has about 18 million households out of which only two million have landlines (mostly from PLDT and its competitors). Alberto said: “The telephone is an important portal for communication and even entertainment, and we at PLDT shall continue to work hard to reach out to all people including to the fringes of this archipelago. In our 80th anniversary celebration from November 2008 to November 2009, our mandate is the theme of ‘Changing Lives.’ We focus on adding value to our services.”

Smart executive Mon Isberto said the Philippine population reportedly has a 70- to 75-percent penetration rate in terms of cell phones nationwide, but he believes there is “a bit of double counting there because 15 to 20 percent of the people in the Philippines have two or three cell phones each. Maybe the penetration rate is 55to 60 percent. There is still room for growth.”

AVP Gary Dujali told the STAR: “PLDT MyDSL is the biggest in the Philippines for wired broadband and we are happy that we have doubled our client base last year. The most heavy users are between the ages of 15 to 25, that primary age in the life cycle of people when the urge to socialize, network and expose yourself to the rest of the world is strongest. We are four times more preferred than any other brand of broadband service. Only about 20 percent of the total national population has Internet access, wired or wireless. We have yet to experience that explosion of growth in Internet usage like that of China which is an economic powerhouse. Our growth momentum will be influenced also by the affordability of personal computers and laptops.”

Our research showed that PLDT MyDSL continued its strong performance as broadband subscribers grew by over 168,000 to 432,000 at the end of 2008 from 264,000 at the end of 2007. PLDT DSL generated P5.4 billion in revenues for 2008, up 38 percent from P3.9 billion in 2007, accounting for about 50 percent of the PLDT Group’s broadband and Internet revenues for the year.

When asked about criticism that ubiquitous and easy Internet technology has made dastardly acts like those of the viral spread of Hayden sex videos possible, Dujali replied: “I have no comment about Hayden Kho’s private acts or preferences, but this phenomenon truly shows and illustrates how the Internet has become so relevant and so integrated into to people’s everyday lifestyles nowadays.”

Gary Dujali of PLDT MyDSL added: “At the end of the day, the Internet is just a technology; you cannot make a person bad because of the Internet. It may make you bad if you allow it to. Everybody in our modern age is empowered by technology and the Internet to become moviemakers. You can become a journalist wannabe with your own blogs in cyberspace. To be good or bad in cyberspace, it boils down to the personal values of the person, how you were brought up by your parents and family.” 

While some of the world’s biggest and oldest corporate giants fall by the wayside like dinosaurs, the country’s leading telecom conglomerate Philippine Long Distance Co. (PLDT) is marking its 80th anniversary with the theme of “Changing Lives” and has been reinventing itself as an exciting multimedia leader in Philippine society.

From a once inefficient monopoly many years ago which I remember required ages (or insider connections) to get new landlines and a less-than-stellar consumer rapport, PLDT has in recent years been at the crest of the wave of innovations and better customer service. From modern, accessible and affordable landlines, to Smart mobile phones to high-speed PLDT MyDSL Internet service, PLDT has been changing the lives of many millions in diverse breathtaking and positive ways.

PLDT also recently became the leading shareholder in electric power giant Meralco — with the two firms’ combined customer base estimated at 15 million people. Smart official Mon Isberto told me: “This investment outside our core businesses is an exception, it is non-traditional. We’re not going to do more of this. PLDT is and will continue to focus on our telecoms and media-related businesses to better service the public.”

When asked why PLDT has continued to thrive as a dynamic success story after 80 years, the 35-year-old Gary Dujali said: “We have visionary leaders led by our chairman, Manny Pangilinan, talented executive officers like our president, Napoleon Nazareno, and SVP Eric Alberto. We at PLDT are also very much in touch with and very good in understanding our customers and their needs. It’s like your second skin already.”

PLDT chairman Manuel “Manny” Pangilinan, the driving force behind the conglomerate’s phenomenal transformation, said: “With the world’s economies and financial markets continuing their free fall, we in the Philippines have managed not only to stay afloat but, in PLDT’s case, have even moved ahead. We do expect that it will be only a matter of time before the tide of global recession reaches our shores and exerts pressure on all businesses. Our core profit guidance for 2009 of P40 billion reflects this cautious impression of prospects. On the other hand, our guidance for capital expenditures is at P27 billion — reflecting our vision that precisely in this time of challenges, the opportunity to invest in our long-term future becomes more attractive. That said, our capital expenditures are, as always, scalable and can be accelerated or reduced as the market situation dictates. This level of investment should be regarded as our vote of confidence in the future — the future of both PLDT and the Philippines. We have placed our bets on this country before, and we will continue to invest in opportunities that will contribute to our nation’s growth and our people’s prosperity. That faith has, so far, been richly rewarded.”

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