PLDT, Inc.
, formerly known as the
Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company
(
Filipino
:
Kompanya ng Teleponong Pangmalayuan ng Pilipinas
),
[2]
is a Philippine
telecommunications
,
internet
and digital service company.
[3]
PLDT is one of the Philippine's major telecommunications providers, along with
Globe Telecom
and startup
Dito Telecommunity
. Founded in 1928, it is the oldest and largest telecommunications company in the Philippines, in terms of assets and revenues.
[4]
The company's core businesses are
fixed-line
telecommunications, mobile telephony services,
broadband
, and
internet of things
services under various brands. It also has investments in
broadcasting
,
print media
,
utilities
, and
direct-to-home
satellite services, among others. As of 2019, PLDT is listed in the
Philippine Stock Exchange
and
New York Stock Exchange
and is being controlled by
First Pacific
, a
Hong Kong
-based
investment management
company,
Nippon Telegraph and Telephone
, through its subsidiaries, and
JG Summit Holdings
.
Throughout the past decades, PLDT has received numerous complaints from the Philippine House of Representatives and Senate regarding slow internet connection.
[5]
PLDT was established on November 28, 1928, by a Philippine Government
act
. Philippine legislature and approved by then
governor-general
Henry L. Stimson
by means of a merger of four telephone companies under operation of the American telephone company
GTE
.
[6]
Known as Act 3436, the bill granted PLDT a 50-year charter and the right to establish a Philippine
telephone
network linking major points nationwide. However, PLDT had to meet a 40-day deadline to start implementing the network, which would be implemented over a period of one to four years.
By the 1930s, PLDT had an expansive fixed-line network and for the first time linked the Philippines to the outside world via
radiotelephone
services, connecting the Philippines to the
United States
and other parts of the world.
Telephone service in the Philippines was interrupted due to
World War II
. At the end of the war, the Philippines' communications infrastructure was in ruins. U.S. military authorities eventually handed over the remains of the communications infrastructure to PLDT in 1947, and with the help of massive U.S. aid to the Philippines during the 1940s and 1950s, PLDT recovered so quickly that its telephone subscribers outpaced that of pre-war levels by 1953.
On December 20, 1967, a group of Filipino entrepreneurs and businessmen led by Ramon Cojuangco took control of PLDT after buying its shares from the American telecommunications company
GTE
. The group took control of PLDT's management on January 1, 1968, with the election of Gregorio S. Licaros and Cojuangco as chairman and president of PLDT, respectively. A few months later, PLDT's main office in
Makati
(known today as the Ramon Cojuangco Building) was opened, and PLDT's expansion programs begin, hoping to bring reliable telephone services to the rural areas. It was also during that time that PLDT was able to use
Intelsat II F-4
communications satellite to beam international events such as the
Apollo 8
mission and the funeral of
Robert F. Kennedy
in 1968.
PLDT was permitted to operate during
Martial Law
. During the 1970s, PLDT was
nationalized
by the government of then-president
Ferdinand Marcos
and in 1981, in compliance of then existing policy of the Philippine government to integrate the Philippine telecommunications industry, purchased substantially all of the assets and liabilities of Republic Telephone Company, becoming the country's telephone
monopoly
. Under this monopoly, service expansion were severely curtailed or practically nonexistent. In the Martial Law years people would apply for phone service only to wait for years and years on end behind an impossibly long application backlog. It is not unheard of for people and small businesses back then to barter for a single telephone line in the black market for tens of thousands of pesos. The incumbent
Singaporean Prime Minister
Lee Kuan Yew
referred to the situation when visiting the Philippines during the term of President
Fidel V. Ramos
. He said, albeit in jest, “In the Philippines, 95% of the population has no telephone, while the remaining 5% are waiting for that dial tone.”
[7]
[8]
Tonyboy Cojuangco Era
edit
After President Marcos was
overthrown
in 1986, the company was re-privatized and Cojuangco's son, Antonio "Tonyboy" O. Cojuangco, Jr. became chief executive.
[9]
On March 16, 1988, PLDT launched the country's first
cellular phone
system in
Sampaloc
,
Manila
to enable the public use of mobile phones.
[10]
By 1995, with the passage of the Telecommunications Act and the subsequent deregulation of the Philippine telecommunications industry, the company has been de-monopolized.
In 1992, PLDT partnered with
AT&T Corporation
to expand its services into rural communities; including USA Direct Roving Van Service, a mobile van equipped with cellular phones, to provide toll service to some previously unserved rural communities; point-to-point international digital leased line service;
payphone
services; and magnetic prepaid telephone cards. By 1997, the company, through
Mabuhay Satellite Corporation
, launched the Philippines' first local communications satellite,
Agila II
(It was later divested to
Asia Broadcast Satellite
in 2009).
In 1998, Hong Kong-based
First Pacific Company Ltd.
acquired a 17.5% controlling stake in PLDT for approximately P29.7 billion. Following the acquisition by the First Pacific group,
Manuel V. Pangilinan
became the new president and CEO of PLDT, replacing Cojuangco, who assumed the post of chairman until 2004.
[9]
An additional investment was added in 2000 through a share-swap agreement; where
NTT Communications
, a subsidiary of
Nippon Telegraph and Telephone
, acquired a share in PLDT in exchange for its co-owned wireless telecom company
Smart Communications
.
PLDT acquired 51.55% of the shares of
Digitel
from
JG Summit Holdings
in March 2011 at the cost of ?69.2 Billion. Because of this, the shares of Digitel and JG Summit in the PSE surged while PLDT's remained unchanged. The deal resulted in JG Summit having a 12% share in PLDT. It was finalized by the
National Telecommunications Commission
on October 26, 2011. In exchange of the transaction, PLDT's subsidiary Smart Communications surrendered the mobile frequency and spectrum being used by its service
Red Mobile
to the government, which was eventually consummated in 2016.
In April 2016, the company, then known as the
Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company
, dropped the "long distance telephone" from its corporate name and was renamed
PLDT Inc.
[11]
Its board of directors approved the new corporate name to reflect on the company's new range of services, mainly focusing on data services. On June 13, 2016, PLDT and its subsidiary Smart unveiled their new logos and identity as part of the company's continuing digital pivot.
[3]
On March 16, 2023, it was announced that PLDT was to acquire the broadband business of
Sky Cable Corporation
.
[12]
[13]
Earlier, there was already a deal where
Cignal Cable Corporation
was set to acquire minority stake of Sky Cable Corporation but it was terminated due to alleged political pressure.
[14]
On March 9, 2024, PLDT obtained a P1 billion
green Loan
facility from
HSBC
Philippines to partially finance the modernization and expansion of its fiber network supporting internet delivery platforms such as fiber fixed
broadband
,
mobile data services
and
carrier grade
WiFi
.
[15]
In a 38-page
decision
penned by
Rodil Zalameda
and promulgated on February 14, 2024, the Philippine Supreme Court ordered the
regularization
of 7,344 "contractual employees" of PLDT engaged in line installation, repair, and maintenance. It dismissed the consolidated
petition for review
on certiorari filed by
Silvestre Bello III
and the company's [rank-and-file] employees' union Manggagawa Sa Komunikasyon ng Pilipinas (Workers in the Philippine Communications [Industry]) , affirming a Court of Appeals judgment that found PLDT and its contractor committed labor violations. It however clarified that "labor contracting is not per se illegal, following Article 106 of the Labor Code expressly allowing an employer to engage in legitimate labor contracting, which the DoLE implements through DO 18-A and DO 174-2017."
[16]
The high court finally
remanded the case
to the Office of the Regional Director of Dole NCR "to review and determine the impact of the regularization of the workers performing installation, repair, and maintenance services and to review, compute, and properly determine the monetary award on the labor standards violation, to which petitioner PLDT Inc. and the concerned contractors are solidarily liable."
[17]
PLDT's fixed line business offers services intended for enterprises, small and medium enterprises, and corporate consumers ? including corporate data, ICT solutions, data networking, and cybersecurity solutions. PLDT also offers
local exchange
telephone services for
Subic Bay Freeport
,
Clark Freeport Zone
,
Bonifacio Global City
, and selected cities in Mindanao through its subsidiaries.
PLDT's retail fixed line services are branded under
PLDT Home
brand. It offers home
broadband
,
IPTV
, and
triple play
packages with devices from
TP-Link
and
Roku
.
PLDT operates its wireless cellular services through its brands, namely
Smart
and
TNT
Smart, its flagship brand, offers commercial wireless services through its
2G
,
3G
,
3.5G
HSPA+
,
4G
LTE
network, and
5G
in the key areas in the Philippines. Smart also offers terrestrial
satellite communication
services and wireless complimentary offerings.
TNT provides a wide range of offerings in low-cost call, text, and mobile internet packages, as well as other value-added services.
PLDT currently invests in media through
Pilipinas Global Network
and
MediaQuest Holdings
, funded through its Beneficial Trust Fund. MediaQuest's assets include broadcasting firms
TV5 Network
and
Nation Broadcasting Corporation
, direct-to-home satellite operator
Cignal TV
, and major newspaper companies
The Philippine Star
and
BusinessWorld
, among others.
[18]
PLDT also has investments in energy utility (
Meralco
, through
PLDT Communication and Energy Ventures
),
business jet
transportation (Pacific Global One Aviation Company), and e-commerce and financial technology development (Voyager Innovations), among others.
In October 2015, PLDT introduced so-called "volume boosters" (instead of 30% bandwidth throttling in 2014 and 256?kbit/s bandwidth throttling in 2015) when exceeding monthly 30?GB to 70?GB bandwidth cap for TD-LTE connection plans (Ultera). "In case your usage exceeds your monthly volume allowance, you can still enjoy the internet by purchasing additional volume boosters. Otherwise, connectivity will be halted until your monthly volume is refreshed on your next billing cycle."
[20]
Globe followed the suit with a similar "volume boost" arrangement.
[21]
This practice has since been weaned off for fixed broadband such as DSL and fiber optic, particularly with capped rates being silently retired. Globe, who previously retired all their unlimited data rates to capped ones, have reintroduced uncapped rates too.
In 2015, PLDT increased lock-in period for TD-LTE connection plans from 24 to 36 months (3 years) with the pre-termination fee equal to the full balance for the remaining period. Unless the subscriber explicitly manifests otherwise (i.e. don't want to be locked-in again) in writing 30 days prior to end of a contract , the lock-in period is automatically renewed for another 36 months.
[22]
As of now the Globe lock-in period is still 2 years with no pre-termination fee outside of the lock-in period.
[23]
The PLDT TD-LTE contract allows PLDT to change the terms and conditions at any time with the only way left for subscribers to opt out of the altered service through paying the full pre-termination fee: "8.3 Modification. SBI reserves the right at its discretion to modify, delete or add to any of the terms and conditions of this Agreement at any time without further notice. It is the Subscriber’s responsibility to regularly check any changes to these Terms and Conditions. The Subscriber’s continued use of the Service after any such changes constitutes acceptance of the new Terms and Conditions."
[22]
Even as the Consumer Act of the Philippines states "Unfair or Unconscionable Sales Act or Practice ... the following circumstances shall be considered ... that the transaction that the seller or supplier induced the consumer to enter into was excessively one-sided in favor of the seller or supplier",
[24]
the practice of inducing extremely long-term contracts with the ultimate pre-termination penalty has not been legally challenged yet.
Subsidiaries and affiliates
edit
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
SEC Form 17-C with Management's Discussion and Analysis (2023)
(PDF)
(Report). March 26, 2023.
- ^
"Maligayang Bati Sa Iyo" [Season's Greetings to You]. Commercial advertisement.
Liwayway
(in Tagalog). Vol.?XVI, no.?5. Manila: Ramon Roces Publications, Inc. December 10, 1937. p.?100.
- ^
a
b
"PLDT, Smart unveil new logo in line with 'digital pivot'
"
. PLDT. June 13, 2016
. Retrieved
June 13,
2016
.
- ^
PLDT Financial Results
- ^
Yap, DJ (December 26, 2014).
"Congress urged to probe slow Internet service in PH"
.
Philippine Daily Inquirer
. Retrieved
September 28,
2021
.
- ^
PHILIPPINE LONG DISTANCE TELEPHONE COMPANY
Archived
January 2, 2011, at the
Wayback Machine
retrieved May 7, 2013
- ^
"PLDT-Digitel mega-deal violates law | Inquirer Opinion"
. Opinion.inquirer.net. May 27, 2011
. Retrieved
September 14,
2013
.
- ^
Eaton, Kent (January 2008).
Politicians and Economic Reform in New Democracies: Argentina and the Philippines in the 1990s
. Penn State Press.
ISBN
978-0271045849
.
- ^
a
b
"History"
. PLDT
. Retrieved
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2013
.
- ^
"PLDT launches RP's first cellular phone"
.
Manila Standard
. Standard Publications, Inc. March 16, 1988
. Retrieved
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.
- ^
"PLDT drops 'long distance,' soon to be called PLDT, Inc"
.
Rappler
. April 13, 2016.
Archived
from the original on April 16, 2016
. Retrieved
June 15,
2016
.
- ^
"PLDT to take over Sky's broadband business"
.
Philstar.com
. Retrieved
April 7,
2023
.
- ^
"PLDT, bibilhin ang SKY Cable sa halagang P6.75B"
.
PEP.ph
. Retrieved
April 7,
2023
.
- ^
Neil (September 1, 2022).
"ABS-CBN, TV5 terminate landmark partnership deal"
.
BusinessWorld Online
. Retrieved
April 7,
2023
.
- ^
"PLDT secures P1B 'green loan'
"
.
SunStar Cebu
. March 9, 2024
. Retrieved
March 10,
2024
.
- ^
Locus, Sandy (March 9, 2024).
"SC orders PLDT to regularize employees engaged in installation, repair and maintenance of service lines"
.
GMA Integrated News
. Retrieved
March 10,
2024
.
- ^
Bautista, Jane (March 8, 2024).
"SC: Workers servicing PLDT lines must be regularized"
.
Philippine Daily Inquirer
. Retrieved
March 10,
2024
.
- ^
"PLDT to lower stake in Voyager"
.
BusinessMirror
.
[
permanent dead link
]
- ^
"Public Ownership Report as of September 30, 2020"
. PLDT
. Retrieved
January 6,
2021
.
- ^
"PLDT HOME Ultera support library, FAQ"
. Archived from
the original
on February 15, 2017
. Retrieved
March 2,
2017
.
- ^
"Globe ? FAQ ? Volume Boost"
.
- ^
a
b
"Terms and Conditions"
. Archived from
the original
on November 4, 2020
. Retrieved
March 2,
2017
.
- ^
"Tattoo Free Installation Promo>FAQs"
. Archived from
the original
on June 26, 2016
. Retrieved
March 2,
2017
.
- ^
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.
lawphil.net
.
Media related to
PLDT
at Wikimedia Commons