ABS-CBN unit to switch off wireless landline service

A unit of ABS-CBN Corp. is set to discontinue a wireless landline service under the brand bayanPhone Extra on May 16 as it switches to a new platform, according to a published notice issued yesterday.

ABS-CBN’s mobile telecommunications unit ABS-CBN Convergence said its mobile products would be made available to existing subscribers. ABS-CBN acquired the wireless business from then sister-firm Bayan Telecommunications in 2011.

Bayantel is now in the middle of an ownership change, as the Ayala Group’s Globe Telecom is poised to acquire the firm as soon as regulators approve the deal.

For bayanPhone Extra, the Bayan brand was retained while other aspects, like customer service, were outsourced to Bayantel even though ABS-CBN took control of the business, a spokesman said yesterday.

The company was thus providing limited offers for the existing 70,000 to 80,000 subscribers of bayanPhone Extra to facilitate their shift to ABS-CBN mobile.

In its notice, ABS-CBN said the decision to discontinue the mobile wireless landline service was in line with changes in technology.

“Because a new platform will be used, the shift to ABS-CBN mobile products will require a change in phone numbers,” the company said. “We encourage [customers] to try the new ABS-CBN mobile and experience nationwide coverage, stronger signal for better call quality and reliability and mobile Internet surfing.”

When used with the latest smartphones and tablets, the ABS-CBN mobile SIM allows customers to watch their favorite Kapamilya shows anytime and anywhere through the iWant TV mobile app or site, it added.

ABS-CBN recently ventured into the mobile telecommunications business via a network sharing agreement with Globe. The service, supported by Globe’s infrastructure, already has 250,000 subscribers.