PLDT enhances SME broadband offerings

22.03.2005
Von Grace S.

The Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) is setting its sights on small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to achieve its target of generating 80,000 broadband DSL (digital subscriber line) subscribers by yearend.

The dominant telecommunications carrier, through its Retail Business Group, is enhancing its SME offerings, particularly Small Biz Lite and Small Biz Jr., by bundling office equipment with their existing service and support packages. The upgrade aims to provide SME broadband subscribers faster speeds at low rates, and the office equipment that will further boost productivity and efficiency.

Priced at only 4,400 pesos (US$81) per month, the Small Biz Lite, which has an upgraded speed of 768k bps (bits per second), now comes with bundled office equipment such as fax machines, scanners, cordless phones, printers and Web cameras. Small Biz Jr., on the other hand, now includes the standard office equipment in the Small Biz Lite plus a free personal computer and an upgraded speed of 1M bps. It costs 8,800 pesos per month.

Objective

?Our objective is not only to dominate the SME market but also to support the business needs of mid-sized companies,? said Butch Jimenez, PLDT Retail Business Group head. ?More and more, we see the importance of broadband access to the growth of SMEs, and we want to be a part of their success.?

Among PLDT"s different broadband offerings, its SME packages have the second highest subscriber take-up, Jimenez bared. ?We are encouraged by the strong demand for broadband by the SME market. This means that our small- and medium-scale enterprises see the need to get wired to the Internet world,? he said.

PLDT currently controls nearly 70 percent of the SME market nationwide. The company hopes to hit its 80,000-subscriber target by winning new customers in this market. To date, PLDT has about 55,000 subscribers, a number that is growing by an estimated 1,000 every week.