NTC to ask PLDT to make Sun 'unli' promo permanent

The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) may require telecommunications leader Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) to make Sun Cellular’s unlimited text and call promos a permanent offering as a condition for the NTC’s approval of PLDT’s acquisition of a 51.55% stake in Digital Telecommunications Phils. Inc. (Digitel). Highly placed sources told The STAR that under the Public Services Act, any sale or transfer of shares of stocks by a public utility that will result in the transferee owning more than 40 percent must not prejudice public interest. “To make sure that Digitel’s sale to PLDT will not prejudice public interest, and despite the fact that PLDT has already said that Sun Cellular’s unli text and call promos will remain, the NTC will ask PLDT to make these promos, which currently are available for a limited period, permanent,” the source said. Digitel is the 100% owner of Digitel Mobile Philippines, Inc., which owns the brand Sun Cellular. It also has a substantial fixed line and broadband business. In addition, PLDT and NTC are in discussions over a possible divestment by PLDT of the 3G frequencies held by its subsidiary Connectivity Unlimited Resourced Enterprise (CURE). The NTC is expected to finally decide by next week on a joint PLDT-Digitel application seeking approval of the sale. The commission has 90 days or until October 26, 2011 or from the time the last pleading was filed to come up with a decision, although NTC said that the period is not mandatory. NTC Commissioner Gamaliel Cordoba told reporters late last week that all the inputs needed in deciding on the controversial deal are already with the government, thus, giving it sufficient footing on the issue. “All inputs that we need are already in. So, we already can [decide],” he said, but added that there is still no schedule on when an approval or denial will be issued on the PLDT-Digitel deal. Cordoba said the 90-day period is just a “reasonable length of time” that will “guide” the regulators to evaluate the transaction and its effect on the telecommunications industry. Thus, he said the regulator cannot be forced to either deny or approve the P69-billion deal at the end of the 90-day period. According to Cordoba, an ideal telecom industry should have several players in order to protect the welfare of consumers. “The more providers to choose from, the better for the public. If there are several players in the market, prices will go down and services will further improve because of competition,” he said. Currently, there are only three cellular providers in the local telecoms industry that include PLDT’s wireless arm Smart Communications, Digitel’s Sun Cellular and Globe Telecom. The acquisition of Digitel by PLDT in the latter cornering over 70 percent of cellular subscribers. PLDT, however, said Digitel will be managed separately from PLDT and will retain its branding even after the acquisition. PLDT said it is cognizant though of the concerns raised by government and certain oppositors regarding the group’s ownership of 3G frequency. “We would like to assure all the parties that it is not PLDT’s intention to accummulate the said frequency. Thus, in order to pave the way for the issuance of the NTC approval and completion of the acquisition transaction given the substantial public benefit it will create, PLDT is in discussions with NTC regarding the possibility of divesting frequency held by CURE,” it revealed. Even with this, PLDT maintained that there is no legal basis for government to recall any radio frequency held by the group. “All radio frequencies held by the PLDT group are being properly, effectively, and efficiently used by the groyp to meet the demands of public service and all fees due on the assignment and use of such frequencies have been properly paid in a timely manner,” company officials said. PLDT said it firmly believes that the acquisition transaction will be beneficial to the public good and public service and that issue raised by government, the NTC, and certain oppositors regarding radio frequency should not be an obstacle to the NTC’s approval thereof. The PLDT group has 25 mhz of 3G frequencies, 15 mhz of which is held by Smart and 10 mhz by CURE. The original closing date of the acquisition deal, originally targeted for June 30 was twice extended - to July 30 and then to August 26 due to prolonged disposition of the application for approval by the NTC. PLDT and Digitel filed their joint application for the approval of the sale to the former of an initial 51.55 percent of the outstanding shares of Digitel from the Gokongwei group last April 27. “What should have been a straightforward summary proceeding turned into a protracted proceeding as Globe and other oppositors raised extraneous matters, including a grant of additional frequency assignments to Globe as well as IP peering, and even sought for the suspension of the proceeding and disapproval of the transaction, arguing that PLDT’s foreign ownership exceeds the constitutional limit on the basis of the Supreme Court’s decision in the Gamboa casem which has not even attained finality,” PLDT pointed out. PLDT has already obtained the Security and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) confirmation of the valuation of the said Digitel shares, and convertible bonds and advances which PLDT will acquire in consideration of new shares of common stock to be issued by PLDT.

Huawei offers a glimpse of MediaPad

The MediaPad provides a fabulous user-experience in a stylish, high-performing and ultra-portable package. The MediaPad is Huawei Device’s smartest, slimmest and lightest tablet yet, measuring just 10.5 mm (0.4 inch) deep and weighing approximately 390 grams (0.86 pound). It supports 1080P full HD video playback and features a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera and five-megapixel auto focus rear-facing camera with HD video recording capabilities. With HSPA+ 14.4Mbps and high-speed Wi-Fi 802.11n Internet connectivity, the MediaPad doesn’t just entertain — it also keeps you connected in an instant. “With the Huawei MediaPad, we are demonstrating yet again that design, functionality and performance are within anyone’s reach. The seven-inch tablet remains the preferred size for portability, and Android Honeycomb 3.2 is dedicated to enhance the full potential of seven-inch tablets. Huawei is very pleased to be the first to offer this package to consumers globally and most especially here in the Philippines,” said Zack Zhangxiang, Device Group head of Huawei Philippines. “The MediaPad opens up new worlds of entertainment for consumers by removing the barriers to tablet ownership, enabling access to a truly high-quality mobile entertainment experience,” added Zhangxiang. An out-of-this-world entertainment experience The MediaPad supports HSPA+ data services, Flash 10.3 videos and comes pre-installed with applications such as Facebook, Twitter, Let’s Golf and Documents to Go. With the seven-inch IPS touch screen, the MediaPad offers a standout visual experience for photos, movies and applications. Entertainment and gaming experience are taken to the next level with its 1.2GHz dual-core processor, HD playback and HDMI port. With MediaPad, Huawei Device aims to reach a significant number of its target market, the Young Social Networkers (YSNs). Emerald Dimapilis, terminal marketing manager of Huawei Device Philippines, said, “YSNs are all around us. Wherever you are in the world — whether in a bar in New York, a coffee shop in Makati, a beach in Palawan, or a busy shopping street in London — you will find groups of YSNs. Progressiveness is the defining characteristic of this group.” ‘The MediaPad opens up new worlds of entertainment for consumers,’ says Zack Zhangxiang, Device Group head of Huawei Philippines. Expansion of Huawei Device’s smart offerings The MediaPad builds on the global success of the IDEOS S7 Slim tablet and cements Huawei Device’s ability to cater to the explosive demand for tablets. According to the International Data Corp., sales in the tablet market are expected to increase more than fourfold in the next two years. Along with Huawei’s latest range of smart devices, the MediaPad is a prime example of Huawei Device’s focus on the power of practical innovation. Huawei currently serves 45 of the world’s top 50 telecom operators. Huawei Device has achieved success in the operator resale market, and is a leading vendor in mobile broadband and convergence device field. The company provides a diverse range of network devices, including handsets, mobile broadband devices, convergence devices, and video solutions. It has partnered with more than 470 operators in more than 130 countries.

Smart installs over 1,200 HSPA+ sites

The year 2011 is turning out to be the breakthrough year for the development of broadband services in the country. Last week, Smart Communications Inc. announced it has fired up over 1,200 Evolved High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA+) base stations, thus making much more available high-speed mobile broadband in more parts of the country. “Combined with other technology platforms, HSPA+ will play a big role in achieving our goal of extending broadband coverage to 95 percent of the Philippine population in the next three years,” said Rolando Peña, head of the Technology Group of Smart and its parent firm, the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT). 3G on steroids HSPA+ is an upgraded version of the High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) technology. Based on standards set by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), HSPA+ is the fastest form of 3G, currently capable of delivering speeds of up to 42Mbps to mobile broadband users. Smart has been conducting tests on HSPA+ since 2009. “At this early stage, Smart has already rolled out the most extensive and robust high-speed mobile broadband network in the country,” said Smart chief wireless advisor Orlando Vea. “Last month, we had about 500 HSPA+ base stations. It has taken us just a month to more than double that count. That shows how serious we are when we said we are transforming our network to further improve the quality of our service and meet the demand for new Internet-based services,” Vea said. PLDT and Smart are currently implementing a P67.1-billion network transformation program designed to support the rapidly growing demand for broadband internet services in both fixed and mobile networks. Less expense, more savings On the mobile side, Smart set off this network transformation process with the conversion of its existing 2G and 3G base stations to the Single Radio Access Network (RAN) system. With Single RAN, a base station can handle all types of cellular standards, allowing an operator such as Smart to quickly shift to new technologies just by upgrading the software in what is called a Base Station Controller. “Our shift to Single RAN allows us to future-proof our base stations, and gives us the flexibility to rapidly upgrade them to the latest standards. Even as 3G evolved into HSPA, then into HSPA+, and even on to Long-Term Evolution (LTE), we do not need to have multiple base stations for each these cellular standards,” Peña said. Fiber to the home On the fixed line side, PLDT has begun introducing fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) services in selected areas of Metro Manila. FTTH will make possible high-speed services such as video-streaming in high-definition quality. This will transform broadband usage at home to include entertainment services such as video-on-demand and live viewing of Web-based entertainment content and services. The fiber optic edge Connecting these access technologies on both the fixed and mobile side is the extensive transport grid — or the system of “highways” through which voice, SMS, and data go through — of both PLDT and Smart. To date, Smart and PLDT have over 42,000 kilometers of looped FOCs, fully covering mainland Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao. By end-2011, the combined PLDT-Smart network is expected to exceed 45,000 kilometers of fiber optic cabling throughout the Philippines. “To offer high-speed access services, we need to support this with a robust, resilient transmission network,” said Peña. “Smart’s backbone infrastructure ensures that services will continue operating at the highest level even if some facilities have been damaged and suffer downtime.” Moving to 4G Smart’s HSPA+ rollout is complement by its preparations for the commercial deployment of LTE, often referred to as the fourth-generation of mobile phone technology or 4G. Earlier this year, Smart fired up its LTE network on Boracay Island, where speeds hit 50 to 70Mbps, or roughly 35 times faster than that of the current 3G standard. Much earlier, Smart had announced plans to expand its WiMAX deployment to 800 more sites, as part of efforts to enhance its fixed wireless broadband service, particularly in the provinces. Since WiMAX covers a wider distance and serves more users at any given time while allowing high-speed data access, it can reach “blackout areas” that currently have no broadband Internet access — enabling Internet penetration even to the most remote barrios and barangays. “We have clearly built the most advanced network in the country. To Smart, all this translates to an enhanced communication experience and mobile lifestyle for our subscribers,” said Vea. Smart connects more than 47.8 million mobile subscribers and close to 1.5 million broadband subscribers that enjoy the most affordable and reliable wireless services. Among Smart’s newest products is the Netphone — a line of Android devices pumped full of Smart’s proprietary services that, together, offer the best mobile Internet experience at low price points. Another new product is the Smart Bro Rocket WiFi, the country’s fastest HSPA+ pocket modem and router in one.