PLDT ties up with US firm for new offering

PLDT Inc. partnered United States-based Roku to launch a new entertainment box, the latest in the telco giant’s efforts to boost its digital presence among households.

PLDT rolled out last week its Roku Powered™ PLDT TVolution, which can play pay-TV channels from Cignal, on-demand internet TV platforms like Netflix and Iflix, free content from Youtube and other digital platforms.

“For our subscribers, this means easy access to all their favorite entertainment content, without having to switch between multiple devices,” PLDT first vice president and Home business head Oscar A. Reyes Jr. said in a statement.

PLDT said the TVolution box, manufactured by Roku, and service were available to all PLDT Home Fibr customers starting this month for an additional monthly service fee of P199.
Subscribers can choose from millions of hours of free or paid-for content from different streaming services with minimal additional charges and without a contract.

The partnership is linked to PLDT’s expansion in the home broadband segment.

“PLDT’s aggressive nationwide fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) expansion program has transformed entire cities into a Fibr-powered PLDT Smart City, starting with Toledo City in Cebu, followed by General Santos in Mindanao, Naga City in the Bicol region, and Metro Manila’s southern communities,” the company said.

It plans to expand its FTTH coverage to 4.4 million homes passed by end of 2017. PLDT’s fiber homes passed stood at three million at the end of March. It is also deploying hybrid fiber technologies, such as Huawei’s G.fast, which can boost data speeds up to 600-700 Mbps over copper lines.

PLDT has invested P300 billion or $6 billion over the last 10 years to roll out the country’s most extensive fixed and wireless network that includes a transmission and distribution network infrastructure. It now has 150,000 kilometers of fiber optic cables, transporting the growing data traffic of its fixed line and mobile networks.