PLDT expands broadband footprint via new product

Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) is further expanding its broadband footprint by launching a new device that is meant to enable television sets without Internet capabilities into so-called Internet TVs.

Company officials of unit PLDT Home said Thursday that the device, called TVolution, would be made available to PLDT Home Fibr customers, a segment that the company was keen on growing.

With new products, PLDT vice president and head of Home broadband Gary Dujali said the telco was aiming at doubling the number of villages it was servicing to 2,000 within the year. The move is part of the PLDT group’s convergence strategy, which involves integrating the traditional telecommunications business with multimedia formats.

“The TVolution is just the first in many technological innovations that PLDT Home is pioneering with the aim of making it every Filipino family’s multimedia home. With the TVolution, the entire Internet is at Fibr subscribers’ fingertips,” Dujali said.

“TVolution is entertainment on demand; the days of aimless channel-surfing, looking for something good to watch, are over. Now, all of the video content of the Internet is made available to TVolution subscribers,” he added.

TVolution, a tiny television box capable of accessing the Internet and networking with other devices, is aimed at viewers seeking movies or television shows on demand.

PLDT recently expanded its fiber network to 78,000 kilometers. This is part of the company’s P19-billion capital expenditure modernization investment.

Powered by quad-core processors, TVolution operates on an Android-based platform. It connects to any HDMI-ready TV and syncs with a PLDT Home Fibr WiFi connection.

The TVolution allows customers to stream blockbuster movies and TV series from the Internet, using their PLDT Home Telpad or any Android device as remote control.

The company said its features include 4GB of internal data storage, a micro-SD card slot, WiFi, Bluetooth, HDMI input and output, and two USB ports. Subscribers only need to make a minimal addition of P199 to their monthly Fibr subscriptions to gain access to content online through their television sets.