Landline business saturation prods innovation

Amidst the saturation of landline services, the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) has transform its fixed line business through new offerings that bundle landline service with a touch-screen tablet and high speed myDSL under one package.

"We are reshaping the future of the landline and we are starting to bring it to the market now," said PLDT president and CEO Napoleon L. Nazareno. "We are proud that the PLDT TelPad was conceptualized and developed here in the Philippines using world-class technology."

The PLDT TelPad unit includes a special handset that also serves as a charging dock for an application rich, 7-inch screen tablet computer. It is powered by a 1Ghz Cortex A8 processor that enables the device to deliver snappy performance. It runs on Android’s latest operating system version 2.2.

TelPad users can download a wide range of applications from the Android Market Google’s online store which offers over 125,000 applications like business apps, e-books and magazines and digital games, including hhe highly popular Angry Birds.

"We’ve packed the PLDT TelPad with features that will dramatically change how we use landlines," said PLDT senior vice president Eric R. Alberto, adding that the Philippine market, with its growing number of "netizens," is ready for an innovative service such as the PLDT Telpad.

The upgrade of the PLDT Domestic Fiber Optic recently with a total of 10,050 kilometers connecting 68 nodes and equipped with a total network bandwidth capacity of 1.56 terabytes will support the high bandwidth requirement of the PLDT TelPad, Alberto said.

"We have reinvented the landline to take on the emerging digital lifestyle and the growing consumer appetite for rich multi-media content", said Dan Ibarra, PLDT group head of Retail Business.

"The intuitive design allows subscribers to access information, entertainment and lifestyle apps easily with simple touch of the screen. Aside from Android based applications such as e-readers, news widgets and games, there are other apps being developed for a more enjoyable PLDT TelPad experience," Ibarra added.

Subscribers who enjoy a multi-media lifestyle can also take advantage of the TelPad’s built-in HDMI port which can be plugged into any flat screen TV, allowing subscribers to watch movies, play games and very soon, even sing along with the Videoke app on the TV’s larger screen.

The PLDT TelPad service starts at Plan 1849 with 1-megabit-per-second (Mbps) broadband connection and landline service. The PLDT TelPad unit comes bundled with the plan. Existing PLDT myDSL customers only need to add as low as P500/month to upgrade to the TelPad Plans.

The other PLDT TelPad plans are Plan 2099 at 1.5 Mbps (P2, 099 per month), Plan 3095 at 2.5 Maps, and Plan 4100 at 3.5 Mbps. All these are inclusive of the landline phone and myDSL broadband service.

The device has 2GB internal capacity that can be augmented by an SD card and USB slot for extended storage. The TelPad also carries a 2-megapixel front camera for still shots and videoconference calls.