PLDT to hike 5G investments in 2021 to boost 'customer experience' | ABS-CBN

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PLDT to hike 5G investments in 2021 to boost 'customer experience'

PLDT to hike 5G investments in 2021 to boost 'customer experience'

ABS-CBN News

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Updated Oct 23, 2020 10:41 PM PHT

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MANILA - PLDT Inc said Friday it would boost 5G investments in 2021 to further improve customer experience.

Investments include expansion of fiber network that reached 395,000 kilometers as of end-September, the telco said in a statement. The network supports both PLDT and Smart Communications, it said.

“As we complete the build-out of our 4G network so that our coverage will be as close as possible to 100 percent, we are building out our 5G network as well,” said PLDT Chairman and CEO Manuel V. Pangilinan.

PLDT said Smart LTE currently covers 95 percent of the population.

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Connectivity is crucial as Filipinos spend more time at home for work and school, Pangilinan said.

Meanwhile, 5G will further improve mobile data experience especially for videos, Smart president and CEO and PLDT chief revenue officer Alfredo Panlilio said.

“The major driver for business today is data. Seventy two percent of our revenues now is on data. From a video consumption point of view, I think it will make the experience much better," he said.

These network initiatives are part of the group's sustained investments totalling P260 billion from 2015 to 2019. PLDT said its capital expenditures for 2020 were "leveled up" to P70 billion or more.

President Rodrigo Duterte earlier urged telcos to improve services by the end of the year. The Bayanihan to Recover as One law has a provision streamlining the permitting process for tower builds to hasten construction of telco infrastructure.

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TNVS drivers call on LTFRB anew to enforce rule on mandatory discounts

TNVS drivers call on LTFRB anew to enforce rule on mandatory discounts

Andrea Taguines,

ABS-CBN News

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Grab signs in a mall in Pasig City. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News/FileGrab signs in a mall in Pasig City. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News/File

MANILA — A group of Transport Network Vehicle Service (TNVS) drivers appealed to regulators anew on Wednesday to make ride-hailing firms shoulder the full cost of the mandatory 20-percent discount for senior citizens, Persons with Disabilities (PWD), and students.

“Ang mga driver/operator po, maliit lang ang kinikita nyan. Bakit kailangan pang ipapasan ang mga discount na ito?” said Laban TNVS President Jun De Leon during a rally outside the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) office in Quezon City.

“Non-negotiable na po sa atin ang mandatory discounts. Dapat po, 100 percent, sagutin ito ng Transport Network Company (TNC),” he added.

LTFRB Chairman Teofilo Guadiz earlier said that based on Memorandum Circular 2015-016-A, TNCs should absorb these passenger discounts as part of the conditions of acquiring a franchise.

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But some TNCs continue to pass it on to their partner drivers, or at least split the cost with them in the case of dominant player Grab Philippines— on the basis of a different LTFRB memo issued in 2018 which states that public utility operators and drivers should grant the discount.

In a previous interview with ABS-CBN News in December, Guadiz said that provision only applies to public utility jeepneys and buses.

In an effort to clear up the confusion, he said the LTFRB would issue a new order that would also lay down standards on how these discounts should be applied so as not to inconvenience passengers from vulnerable groups.

Up to now, though, the LTFRB has yet to issue any order.

“The issue boils down to sino ang magkukuha or aako nung discount na yan, is it the TNC like Grab? Or is it the operator, yung may-ari ng sasakyan, or is it the driver?” said Guadiz during his latest press conference on Tuesday.

Laban TNVS expressed frustration over this, saying the LTFRB is seemingly changing its initial stance.

“Hindi ko alam kung bakit biglang nagbago ang ihip ng hangin sa sinasabi ni Chairman Guadiz… Ang sinasabi po nila ay pag-aaralan nila ito. Ano pa ba ang dapat pag-aralan? Maliwanag po sa Memorandum Circular, hindi na po dapat palitan,” insisted De Leon.

New entrants in the four-wheeled ride-hailing market, Lalamove and Pure Ride, are also waiting for an LTFRB memo so they can ensure proper compliance.

Lalamove, which launched Lalamove Ride in early February, told ABS-CBN News that, at least for now, it is shouldering majority of the passenger discount while implementing a lower commission rate for drivers.

“In the absence of a memorandum circular, minabuti na po naming magtake ng initiative na majority share si Lalamove, 60% ng discounts are shouldered by Lalamove and then 40% are shouldered by the drivers,” said Lalamove Philippines Managing Director Djon Nacario.

“But please take note, 2% commission lang yung ino-offer namin… At the end of the day, 98% nung fare yung maiuuwi ng ating partner drivers,” he added, saying the firm has one of, if not, the lowest commission rate in the industry.

Nacario also said that should the LTFRB order them to absorb the full cost of the discount, Lalamove would also be prepared to comply.

Meanwhile, Pure Ride, which began operations last February 14, is proposing a 50-50 share with drivers once its 10 percent commission rate takes effect.

“Kunyari sa start we got 0 commission. Ibig sabihin, wala naman kaming nakuha, so the entire 20% would be on the driver which is fair enough. Now when we start getting 10%, dapat 10% lang din yung magiging cover namin (sa discount),” said Pure Ride Chief Operating Officer Edison Go Tan during the firm’s pre-launch media briefing in Makati last February 11.

“Pero siyempre kung sasabihin ng LTFRB talagang icha-charge nila sa TNC, wala kaming magagawa,” assured Tan.

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