PLDT ready to face new competition

MANILA, Philippines — Telecommunications and digital services provider PLDT Inc. is ready for the arrival of a new industry competitor this year, according to its president Al Panlilio.

“Obviously Globe is not sleeping. We’re also aggressive to make sure we do better than them. Yes, we need to worry about the third player coming in,” Panlilio said.

Panlilio said the company is not inclined to react to something that is not there yet. Instead, he said the group is preparing “just in case something happens.”

“We can’t be premature, but we have to be preemptive. We have to be ready when truly that’s what service they give. If they are there, then we will be ready,” he said.

“Honestly, are they going to be ready by 2020? I’m not sure. Maybe 2021. We just have to focus on what we need to do. We need to make our customers happy, give them better service. That’s the only way you can compete, have the better service in the market,” Panlilio said.

The official pointed out that it is not easy building a network, citing Smart’s experience of having spent 25 years to build its network nationwide.

“So if they can do it faster, then it’s good for them. We want to see first what they can bring to the table. But obviously we’re not gonna sit on that, and we want to make sure that at the very least our customers are happy with our service,” Panlilio said.

Third telco player Dito Telecommunity, a consortium composed of China Telecom and Dennis Uy’s Udenna Corp. and Chelsea Logistics and Infrastructure Holdings Corp., has committed to cover 37 percent of the population and provide 27 Mbps minimum average internet speed in year one of its five-year commitment period.

The company will launch commercial operations this year, aiming to capture 30 percent of the market within its “first few years of operations.”

“At the end of the day sometimes it’s not just the speed (that matters). There’s the impression that we’re giving you 27 Mbps, but you’re still buffering. At the end of the day, what is your actual experience? When you watch a movie, do you buffer or not? That’s more critical point,” Panlilio said.

Accordng to Opensignal Philippines Mobile Network Experience Report, Smart provides the best video experience, download speed experience, upload speed experience and latency experience.

The latest assessment from international mobile analytics firm also said that Smart customers were getting superior 4G availability in both rural and urban areas.