PLDT completes P6-B fixed line upgrade

MANILA, Philippines - Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) has completed the P6 -billion upgrade of its landline network to a purely Internet Protocol-based next generation network (NGN) system to enhance services to customers.

In a statement yesterday, PLDT said the transformation of its network covered its 271 offices in 48 provinces nationwide, and involved the migration of 782 switches and nearly 1.3 million lines.

“This is an achievement for PLDT because it is one of the very few carriers in the world that has completely transformed its legacy network,” PLDT president and chief executive officer Napoleon Nazareno said.

The legacy network is a public switched telephone network composed of electronic switches that have now been decommissioned to give way to the digitally enabled NGN.

“With an IP-based system, we can improve customer experience in terms of better service quality and reliability. It also enhances our capacity to offer more relevant and customized services to our subscribers,” Nazareno said.

The transformation also means PLDT is now making its various networks fully digital.

“We are rolling out our fiber network and strengthening our mobile network. We are building the digital infrastructure that will power the future growth of our companies and our country,” Nazareno said.

PLDT has the most expansive and resilient fiber transmission and distribution network which spans over 100,000 kilometers to serve both fixed and cellular networks.

“The NGN system will significantly improve customer experience as it ensures a more reliable and robust service,” PLDT fixed network migration head Angelito Lorena Jr. said.

He said the NGN system is an all IP-based network and capable of delivering new digital services such as high-quality voice, data, and multimedia services.

To ensure PLDT’s services are not disrupted during the migration process and the switch to NGN, the group was also in constant communication with its customers.

“Learning from our previous experiences, we were able to reduce trouble indices from around 10 percent to as low as 0.49 percent as we completed the project,” Lorena said.