MANILA, Philippines - Dominant carrier Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) is set to expand its presence in North America to serve the more than 3.5 million Filipinos living and working in the US.
PLDT Global president and chief executive officer Alex Caeg said the company is set to seal a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) deal with T-Mobile within the next few weeks. “We are working with our US partner T-Mobile,†he said.
Caeg said this would be the eighth MVNO deal to be signed by PLDT Global all over the world. It has existing deals with Macau, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Guam, Taiwan, United Kingdom, and Singapore.
According to him, the services would be launched within the month particularly during the celebration of the Philippine Independence Day in various locations.
He said the services would be launched in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Honolulu, San Diego, and Las Vegas
“We don’t like to preempt it but we are launching in five locations in the US around the independence week. We’ll be having day by day celebrations in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Honolulu, San Diego, and Las Vegas,†he said.
Caeg said PLDT Global also hopes to seal an MVNO deal with Canada next month.
PLDT Global tapped the global Filipino market with a strategic partnership with leading electronics company Samsung and retail giant SM Supermalls.
PLDT would carry Samsung’s domestic appliances and electronics product lines that will allow overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) anywhere in the world to pay directly and have the items delivered to their loved one’s anywhere in the country.
“And with our newest partners for the Smart Pinoy Stores, we are confident that we will be able to showcase our #expressALAGA brand for our OFWs,†Alberto added.
The tie up expands the Smart Pinoy Store offerings that allows OFWs to purchase Samsung products including tablets, refrigerators, air conditioning units, smart TVs, and washing machines to directly send to their loved ones at discounted prices.