PLDT ties up with Aussie firm for new offering

There’s a new product for parents seeking a tighter lid on the online use of young children.

PLDT Inc. announced a partnership with Australia’s FAM Zone, a maker of tech control devices to protect children from so-called cyber threats.

PLDT said FAM ZONE’s products would provide a “safe” internet experience for families, when used alongside its suite of home broadband services.

“PLDT has been committed to answer its subscribers’ ever-changing needs by providing them with the strongest connections and most innovative technology solutions,” Oscar Reyes Jr., PLDT first vice president and head of Home operations, said in a statement.

“This partnership sets a new bar in multimedia and digital services for Filipino families. Parents used to hide their internet modems at home just to control their children’s online activities. Now with FAM ZONE, parents can be certain that their children are safe and secured online,” he said.

The move was in step with PLDT’s plans to boost its fixed-line broadband segment. This is an area that PLDT chair and CEO Manuel V. Pangilinan called the next telco battleground.

Catering to broader market segments, such as families, was part of the company’s strategy to increase its presence.

In the case of FAM Zone, PLDT said there were a variety of features for families with young children.

Among these, FAM ZONE would have a website filtering feature so parents can restrict access to inappropriate sites and content.

They can also set alerts and reporting functions to monitor their kids’ online activities and identify pre-approved sites that their kids can visit.

FAM ZONE also has a time management feature that allows parents to assign usage schedules for their kids such as “study time, play time, and sleeping time.”