Wireless Connectivity

Telcos take positions in broadband war

Jun 15, 2009 (The Manila Times - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Orlando Vea, chief wireless advisor of PLDT unit Smart Communications Inc. said his company will roll out Wimax (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) in the third quarter of the year.

WiMax is a technology that provides faster wireless transmission of data and mobile communications. It also offers broadband speed without the need for cables.

Vea expects Smart's WiMAX service to increase the company's Internet broadband subscribers.

At end-March, PLDT's broad-band subscribers stood at 1.1 million, composed of 615,000 wireless and 484,000 DSL subscribers.

Napoleon Nazareno, PLDT president said the growth in broadband is made possible by the increasing availability and affordability of Internet-enabled devices, the skyrocketing popularity of social network sites, as well as Internet access becoming an indispensable every day communication tool.

"There is no question that broadband is one of our key areas of growth moving forward and we are ensuring that our market leadership in this area is maintained," he said.

The PLDT executive said the company continues to promote broadband use with the commercial availability of HSPA (High-Speed Packet Access ) running on 850 megahertz spectrum.

On Friday, the company launched an online virtual community called Sandbox using HSPA. The new service would allow subscribers to create a profile, upload and check on friends' photos and videos, as well as write blogs, join forums, send and receive e-mail and download music, games and various content.

Sandbox also has a unique online retail portal called Digisoria, where subscribers can buy products in the web.

Vea said the Sanbox service is designed to increase mobile Internet penetration in the country.

On the same day, rival Globe officially announced its partnership with Intel Philippines for the rollout of the telco's WiMAX service.

The WiMAX service is initially available in selected areas in Metro Manila, South Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. The company said it is rolling out WiMAX sites, as a complement to its existing DSL and 3G (third-generation) Internet facilities Globe said it has the first and biggest 2.5-gigahertz WiMAX (802.16e) broadband network in South East Asia.

It has about 4,000 subscribers.

Menchi Orlina, Globe's head for consumer marketing group, said the company's deployment of WiMAX aims to generate 20 million Internet users by 2012.

To further tap the rising demand for wireless broadband Internet, Orlina said the company offered Globe Broadband Tattoo and Globe Broadband Powered by WiMAX.

"We're playing a major catch up. We can still catch up. They [PLDT] are three years ahead of us," she said.

With Globe Tattoo, users can experience speeds of up to 2 megabytes per second, delivered using 3G and high-speed downlink packet access.

At present, Globe has 287,000 fixed and wireless broadband subscribers.

From tmcnet

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