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By Darwin G. Amojelar, Reporter
PHILIPPINE Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT)
plans to spend big bucks to build a next generation network (NGN)
technology for its telephone service nationwide as it expects
revenue to reach hundreds million of pesos in five years.
The company will spend P4.3 billion, which
includes an incremental investment of P3.9 billion for over five
years, according to documents it filed with the National
Telecommunications. Its existing investment in the proposed areas
amounted to P464.01 million.
The company will finance its fresh investment
through internally generated funds.
PLDT, partly owned by Hong Kong’s First
Pacific Co. Ltd. and Japan’s NTT group, new investment as well as
the rollout of NGN technology in areas nationwide not yet covered by
its certificates of public convenience was approved by the regulator
on August 22 this year.
The company’s provisionary authority is valid
for 18 months.
The billions will be spent on NGN core, IP
backbone, transmission, broadband remote access server, access
gateway, among others.
PLDT will use NGN solutions to serve the 198
municipalities and cities nationwide covered on its new services.
NGN is the latest technology for voice and
multimedia communications based on open architecture design made
possible through Internet protocol technology. The technology will
support both existing telephone devices such as analog telephone
sets, fax machines, among others.
The company projected to earn P781.76 million
for its fifth year of operation. For year one, PLDT expects a
revenue of P79.29 million; year two, P226.07 million; year three,
P391.64 million and year four, P576.59 million.
PLDT said its reasonable return of rate base for
year five is 1.47 percent.
In terms of subscribers, the company expects to
grow by 21,646 for year one; 45,557 for year two; 72,876 for year
three; 102,032 for year four and 132,630 for year five.
The company plans to impose rate at P958.18 for
business subscribers and P559.01 for residential. For trunklines
subscriber, PLDT will charge between P1.518.51 and P1,676.02.
The company said the proposed services in
additional areas will effectively and efficiently complement and
maximize the use of PLDT’s existing network facilities and improve
the sustainability of promoting universal access to
telecommunications and ICT services by the consuming public
nationwide.
The NTC said PLDT should start providing
telephone service within the areas within 12 months from date of the
NTC’s approval.
PLDT posted a second-quarter profit of P8.8
billion from P 8.47 billion in the same period last year.
This brought the telco’s first-half net income
to P19.3 billion, or 13 percent higher than the P17.1 billion in the
same six-month period last year.
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