.svg){kind=logo} Logo used since June 13, 2016 | |
| Formerly | Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (1928–2016) |
|---|---|
| Company type | Public |
| PSE: TEL NYSE: PHI | |
| Industry | Telecommunications |
| Predecessor |
|
| Founded | Manila,Philippine Islands (November 28, 1928; 96 years ago (1928-11-28)) |
| Headquarters | Ramon Cojuangco Building,Makati Avenue corner Dela Rosa Street, Legazpi Village,Makati,Metro Manila,Philippines |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people |
(SVP, Chief Legal Counsel and Corporate Secretary) (FVP & Group Corporate Communications Officer) |
| Products | Cellular telephony Digital Services Fixed-line telephony Internet Protocol television Information technology Satellite communications Electricity distribution Mass media |
| Revenue |  ₱210.95 billion (2023)[2] |
| ₱36.48 billion (2023)[2] | |
| ₱26.82 billion (2023)[2] | |
| Total assets |  ₱609.52 billion (2023)[2] |
| Total equity | ₱105.22 billion (2023)[2] |
| Owner | Public (42.09 percent) NTT DoCoMo, Inc. (14.5 percent) Philippine Telecommunications Investment Corp. (12.05 percent) JG Summit Holdings (11.27 percent) Metro Pacific Resources, Inc. (9.98 percent) NTT Communications Corp (5.85 percent) First Pacific (3.54 percent) |
Number of employees | 15,596 (2023)[2] |
| Parent | First Pacific |
| Subsidiaries | Smart Communications MediaQuest Holdings PLDT Communication and Energy Ventures |
| ASNs | |
| Website | main |
PLDT, Inc., formerly known as thePhilippine Long Distance Telephone Company (Filipino:Kompanya ng Teleponong Pangmalayuan ng Pilipinas),[3] is a Philippinetelecommunications,internet and digital service company.[4]
PLDT is one of the Philippine's major telecommunications providers, along withGlobe Telecom and startupDITO Telecommunity. Founded in 1928, it is the oldest and largest telecommunications company in the Philippines, in terms of assets and revenues.[5]
The company's core businesses arefixed-line telecommunications, mobile telephony services,broadband, andinternet of things services under various brands. It also has investments inbroadcasting,print media,utilities, anddirect-to-home satellite services, among others. It is listed in thePhilippine Stock Exchange andNew York Stock Exchange and is being controlled byFirst Pacific, aHong Kong–basedinvestment management company,Nippon Telegraph and Telephone, through its subsidiaries, andJG Summit Holdings.
Throughout the past decades, PLDT has received numerous complaints from the Philippine House of Representatives and Senate regarding slow internet connection.[6]
PLDT was established on November 28, 1928, by a Philippine Governmentact. Philippine legislature and approved by thengovernor-generalHenry L. Stimson by means of a merger of four telephone companies under operation of the American telephone companyGTE.[7] Known as Act 3436, the bill granted PLDT a 50-year charter and the right to establish a Philippinetelephone 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 viaradiotelephone services, connecting the Philippines to theUnited States and other parts of the world.
Telephone service in the Philippines was interrupted due toWorld 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 companyGTE. 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 inMakati (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 useIntelsat II F-4 communications satellite to beam international events such as theApollo 8 mission and the funeral ofRobert F. Kennedy in 1968.
PLDT was permitted to operate duringMartial Law. During the 1970s, PLDT wasnationalized by the government of then-presidentFerdinand 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 telephonemonopoly. 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 foundingPrime Minister of Singapore and then incumbent Minister MentorLee Kuan Yew referred to the situation when visiting the Philippines during the term of PresidentFidel V. Ramos. He said quoting theAsiaWeek magazine, albeit in jest, “It (PLDT) has a monopoly of 64 years...The joke in the Philippines is that 89% of the population are waiting for a telephone and the other 2% are waiting for that dial tone. ... worst service in Asia.”[8][9][10]
After President Marcos wasoverthrown in 1986, the company was re-privatized and Cojuangco's son, Antonio "Tonyboy" O. Cojuangco, Jr. became chief executive.[11] On March 16, 1988, PLDT launched the country's firstcellular phone system inSampaloc,Manila to enable the public use of mobile phones.[12] 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 withAT&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, throughMabuhay Satellite Corporation, launched the Philippines' first local communications satellite,Agila II (It was later divested toAsia Broadcast Satellite in 2009).
In 1998, Hong Kong–basedFirst 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.[11] An additional investment was added in 2000 through a share-swap agreement; whereNTT Communications, a subsidiary ofNippon Telegraph and Telephone, acquired a share in PLDT in exchange for its co-owned wireless telecom companySmart Communications.
PLDT acquired 51.55% of the shares ofDigitel fromJG 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 theNational 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 serviceRed Mobile to the government, which was eventually consummated in 2016.
In April 2016, the company, then known as thePhilippine Long Distance Telephone Company, dropped the "long distance telephone" from its corporate name and was renamedPLDT Inc.[13] 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.[4]
On March 16, 2023, it was announced that PLDT was to acquire the broadband business ofSky Cable Corporation.[14][15] Earlier, there was already a deal whereCignal Cable Corporation was set to acquire minority stake of Sky Cable Corporation but it was terminated due to alleged political pressure.[16]
On March 9, 2024, PLDT obtained a P1 billiongreen Loan facility fromHSBC Philippines to partially finance the modernization and expansion of its fiber network supporting internet delivery platforms such as fiber fixedbroadband,mobile data services andcarrier gradeWiFi.[17]
In a 38-pagedecision penned byRodil Zalameda and promulgated on February 14, 2024, the Philippine Supreme Court ordered theregularization of 7,344 "contractual employees" of PLDT engaged in line installation, repair, and maintenance. It dismissed the consolidatedpetition for review on certiorari filed bySilvestre 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."[18] The high court finallyremanded 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."[19]
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 offerslocal exchange telephone services forSubic Bay Freeport,Clark Freeport Zone,Bonifacio Global City, and selected cities in Mindanao through its subsidiaries.
PLDT's retail fixed line services are branded underPLDT Home brand. It offers homebroadband,IPTV, andtriple play packages with devices fromTP-Link andRoku.
PLDT operates its wireless cellular services through its brands, namelySmart andTNT
Smart, its flagship brand, offers commercial wireless services through its2G,3G,3.5GHSPA+,4GLTE network, and5G in the key areas in the Philippines. Smart also offers terrestrialsatellite 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.
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PLDT currently invests in media throughPilipinas Global Network andMediaQuest Holdings, funded through its Beneficial Trust Fund. MediaQuest's assets include broadcasting firmsTV5 Network andNation Broadcasting Corporation, direct-to-home satellite operatorCignal TV, and major newspaper companiesThe Philippine Star andBusinessWorld, among others.[20]
PLDT also has investments in energy utility (Meralco, throughPLDT Communication and Energy Ventures),business jet transportation (Pacific Global One Aviation Company), and e-commerce and financial technology development (Voyager Innovations), among others.
The company's ownership is divided among the public (41.55%),[21] Philippine Telecommunications Investments Corporation (12.05%), Metro Pacific Resources, Inc. (9.98%); non-Philippine subsidiaries ofFirst Pacific Company Limited (3.54%),NTT Communications Corp. (5.85%),NTT DoCoMo, Inc. (14.5%), andJG Summit Group (11.27%).
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."[22] Globe followed the suit with a similar "volume boost" arrangement.[23]
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.[24] As of now the Globe lock-in period is still 2 years with no pre-termination fee outside of the lock-in period.[25] 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."[24] 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",[26] the practice of inducing extremely long-term contracts with the ultimate pre-termination penalty has not been legally challenged yet.
Media related toPLDT at Wikimedia Commons
1 Joint venture • 2 Defunct |
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| National | |
