Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company
Encyclopedia
The Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company commonly known as PLDT, is the largest telecommunications
company in the Philippines
. PLDT is also the largest company in the Philippines, ranked 1138th in the April 2009 update, and 1080th in the April 2010 update, of Forbes' Global 2000 list. As of 2011 it is ranked the 1297th company in the world.
Henry L. Stimson
by means of a merger of four telephone companies under common US ownership. Known as Act 3436, the bill granted PLDT a 50-year charter and the right to establish a Philippine telephone
network linking major points nationwide. However, PLDT had to meet a 40-day deadline to start implementing the network, which would be implemented over a period of one to four years.
By the 1930s, PLDT had an expansive fixed-line network and for the first time linked the Philippines to the outside world via radiotelephone
services connecting the Philippines to the United States
and other parts of the world.
Telephone service in the Philippines was interrupted due to World War II
. At the end of the war, the Philippines' communications infrastructure was in ruin. U.S. military authorities eventually handed over the remains of the communications infrastructure to PLDT in 1947, and with the help of massive U.S. aid to the Philippines during the 1940s and 1950s, PLDT recovered so quickly that its telephone subscribers outpaced that of pre-war levels by 1953.
On December 20, 1967, a group of Filipino entrepreneurs and businessmen led by Ramon Cojuangco took control of PLDT after buying its shares from the American telecommunications company GTE
. The group took control of PLDT's management on January 1, 1968, with the election of Gregorio S. Licaros and Cojuangco as chairman and president of PLDT respectively. A few months later, PLDT's main office in Makati City
(known today as the Ramon Cojuangco Building) was opened, and PLDT's expansion programs begin, hoping to bring reliable telephone services to the rural areas.
PLDT was permitted to operate during Martial Law. During the 1970s, PLDT was nationalized by the government of then-President Ferdinand Marcos
and in 1981, in furtherance of the then existing policy of the Philippine government to integrate the Philippine telecommunications industry, purchased substantially all of the assets and liabilities of Republic Telephone Company, becoming the country's telephone monopoly
. However, after he was overthrown, the company was re-privatized. By 1995, with the passage of the Telecommunications Act and the subsequent deregulation of the Philippine telecommunications industry, the company had been de-monopolized.
In 1991, Smart Communications
was incorporated, with its major shareholders at the time being certain Philippine companies and other affiliates of First Pacific (the parent company of PLDT), as well as NTT Communications Capital (UK) Limited. Both groups owned around 96.7% of the new company.
In 1998, MediaQuest Holdings, Inc.
, a wholly owned subsidiary of the PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund, acquired Nation Broadcasting Corporation
from the joint consortium of the Yabut family and then real estate magnate and Speaker of the House Manny Villar
.
On March 24, 2000, PLDT completed its share-swap acquisition of Smart, making Smart a 100%-owned PLDT subsidiary.
In 2007, MediaQuest bought the shares GV Broadcasting Systems
, a licensed direct-to-home (DTH)) satellite television provider from Satventures Inc. of the Galang family. With this, GV changed its corporate name 360Media to MediaScape Inc.
On November 29, 2008, they celebrate 80 years and the slogan is We're Changing Lives live on Eat Bulaga!
at GMA Network
in Saturday.
On March 2, 2010, PLDT announced that its subsidiary, MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has acquired 100 percent of Associated Broadcasting Company
(TV5) and Primedia Inc.
On March 2011, PLDT bought 51.55% of Digitel's shares for 69.2 Billion Pesos.
On October 26, 2011, NTC finalize the PLDT-Digitel deal. The majority holder of the company is the PLDT. As a result Manuel Pangilinan is the new Chairman of Digitel.
On November 17, 2011 PLDT offers first fiber optic connection to home users
with PLDT Fibr
Wireless:
Fixed-Line:
Information and Communications Technology:
Broadcasting:
PLDT reported that as of September 11, 2011, its mobile phone
subscriber base reached 47,780,121 users, combining subscribers using Smart, Talk 'N Text, and Red Mobile.
and Digitel
in both the fixed-line
and mobile
(via Smart's competition with Globe and Sun Cellular) markets. Bayan Telecommunications
(BayanTel) is also a major fixed-line competitor of PLDT.
, owns the Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters Philippine Basketball Association
team.
PLDT also previously owned, via a partnership with its wholly owned Smart Communications subsidiary and the Ateneo de Manila University
(of which Panginilan is an alumnus), the Addict Mobile-Ateneo basketball team of the Philippine Basketball League
.
Telecommunication
Telecommunication is the transmission of information over significant distances to communicate. In earlier times, telecommunications involved the use of visual signals, such as beacons, smoke signals, semaphore telegraphs, signal flags, and optical heliographs, or audio messages via coded...
company in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. PLDT is also the largest company in the Philippines, ranked 1138th in the April 2009 update, and 1080th in the April 2010 update, of Forbes' Global 2000 list. As of 2011 it is ranked the 1297th company in the world.
History
During the time of Spanish colonization of the Philippines, the Spaniards organized a telephone company that opened in 1890. PLDT was established on November 28, 1928, by an Act of the Philippine Legislature and approved by then-Governor-GeneralGovernor-General of the Philippines
The Governor-General of the Philippines was the title of the government executive during the colonial period of the Philippines, governed mainly by Spain and the United States, and briefly by Great Britain, from 1565 to 1935....
Henry L. Stimson
Henry L. Stimson
Henry Lewis Stimson was an American statesman, lawyer and Republican Party politician and spokesman on foreign policy. He twice served as Secretary of War 1911–1913 under Republican William Howard Taft and 1940–1945, under Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt. In the latter role he was a leading hawk...
by means of a merger of four telephone companies under common US ownership. Known as Act 3436, the bill granted PLDT a 50-year charter and the right to establish a Philippine telephone
Telephone
The telephone , colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that transmits and receives sounds, usually the human voice. Telephones are a point-to-point communication system whose most basic function is to allow two people separated by large distances to talk to each other...
network linking major points nationwide. However, PLDT had to meet a 40-day deadline to start implementing the network, which would be implemented over a period of one to four years.
By the 1930s, PLDT had an expansive fixed-line network and for the first time linked the Philippines to the outside world via radiotelephone
Radiotelephone
A radiotelephone is a communications system for transmission of speech over radio. Radiotelephone systems are not necessarily interconnected with the public "land line" telephone network. "Radiotelephone" is often used to describe the usage of radio spectrum where it is important to distinguish the...
services connecting the Philippines to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and other parts of the world.
Telephone service in the Philippines was interrupted due to World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. At the end of the war, the Philippines' communications infrastructure was in ruin. U.S. military authorities eventually handed over the remains of the communications infrastructure to PLDT in 1947, and with the help of massive U.S. aid to the Philippines during the 1940s and 1950s, PLDT recovered so quickly that its telephone subscribers outpaced that of pre-war levels by 1953.
On December 20, 1967, a group of Filipino entrepreneurs and businessmen led by Ramon Cojuangco took control of PLDT after buying its shares from the American telecommunications company GTE
GTE
GTE Corporation, formerly General Telephone & Electronics Corporation was the largest independent telephone company in the United States during the days of the Bell System....
. The group took control of PLDT's management on January 1, 1968, with the election of Gregorio S. Licaros and Cojuangco as chairman and president of PLDT respectively. A few months later, PLDT's main office in Makati City
Makati City
The City of Makati is one of the 17 cities that make up Metro Manila, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. Makati is the financial center of the Philippines and one of the major financial, commercial and economic hubs in Asia...
(known today as the Ramon Cojuangco Building) was opened, and PLDT's expansion programs begin, hoping to bring reliable telephone services to the rural areas.
PLDT was permitted to operate during Martial Law. During the 1970s, PLDT was nationalized by the government of then-President Ferdinand Marcos
Ferdinand Marcos
Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos, Sr. was a Filipino leader and an authoritarian President of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He was a lawyer, member of the Philippine House of Representatives and a member of the Philippine Senate...
and in 1981, in furtherance of the then existing policy of the Philippine government to integrate the Philippine telecommunications industry, purchased substantially all of the assets and liabilities of Republic Telephone Company, becoming the country's telephone monopoly
Monopoly
A monopoly exists when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity...
. However, after he was overthrown, the company was re-privatized. By 1995, with the passage of the Telecommunications Act and the subsequent deregulation of the Philippine telecommunications industry, the company had been de-monopolized.
In 1991, Smart Communications
Smart Communications
Smart Communications is a wholly owned mobile phone and Internet service subsidiary of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company .On June 30, 2010 the company reported that it had over 45 million cellular subscribers.-Brands:...
was incorporated, with its major shareholders at the time being certain Philippine companies and other affiliates of First Pacific (the parent company of PLDT), as well as NTT Communications Capital (UK) Limited. Both groups owned around 96.7% of the new company.
In 1998, MediaQuest Holdings, Inc.
MediaQuest Holdings, Inc.
MediaQuest Holdings, Inc. is a media conglomerate owned by the Beneficial Trust Fund of the PLDT. It owns most of the media establishments such as Associated Broadcasting Company , Nation Broadcasting Corporation , Cignal Digital TV , and a 30% interest in BusinessWorld Publishing Corporation and...
, a wholly owned subsidiary of the PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund, acquired Nation Broadcasting Corporation
Nation Broadcasting Corporation
Nation Broadcasting Corporation is a pioneer radio and TV network operating in the Philippines since 1963. NBC is currently a subsidiary of MediaQuest Holdings, Inc.. This station offices and studios are located at 762 Quirino Highway, San Bartolome, Novaliches, Quezon City...
from the joint consortium of the Yabut family and then real estate magnate and Speaker of the House Manny Villar
Manny Villar
Manuel "Manny" Bamba Villar, Jr. is a Filipino businessman and politician. He is currently a Philippine Senator, president of the Nacionalista Party...
.
On March 24, 2000, PLDT completed its share-swap acquisition of Smart, making Smart a 100%-owned PLDT subsidiary.
In 2007, MediaQuest bought the shares GV Broadcasting Systems
GV Broadcasting Systems, Inc.
GV Broadcasting Systems, Inc. , also known as MediaScape & Metro City Media Services, is a radio network and direct-to-home satellite provider owned by MediaQuest Holdings, a subsidiary of PLDT in the Philippines...
, a licensed direct-to-home (DTH)) satellite television provider from Satventures Inc. of the Galang family. With this, GV changed its corporate name 360Media to MediaScape Inc.
On November 29, 2008, they celebrate 80 years and the slogan is We're Changing Lives live on Eat Bulaga!
Eat Bulaga!
Eat Bulaga! is a noon-time variety show in the Philippines produced by Television And Production Exponents Inc. and aired by GMA Network. The show is broadcast from The New TAPE Studios at the GMA Broadway Centrum in New Manila, Quezon City. Eat Bulaga! is aired Weekdays at 12:00 pm to 2:30 pm ...
at GMA Network
GMA Network
GMA Network is a major commercial television & radio network in the Philippines. GMA Network is owned by GMA Network, Inc. a publicly listed company...
in Saturday.
On March 2, 2010, PLDT announced that its subsidiary, MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has acquired 100 percent of Associated Broadcasting Company
Associated Broadcasting Company
The Associated Broadcasting Company, Inc is a television network in the Philippines, with main broadcast facilities and transmitter located at 762 Quirino Highway, San Bartolome, Novaliches, Quezon City. The network was previously known as the , Associated Broadcasting Company remains the legal...
(TV5) and Primedia Inc.
On March 2011, PLDT bought 51.55% of Digitel's shares for 69.2 Billion Pesos.
On October 26, 2011, NTC finalize the PLDT-Digitel deal. The majority holder of the company is the PLDT. As a result Manuel Pangilinan is the new Chairman of Digitel.
On November 17, 2011 PLDT offers first fiber optic connection to home users
with PLDT Fibr
Subsidiaries and affiliates
The following are PLDT's wholly owned subsidiaries and affiliates (as indicated), divided according to its self-defined categories:Wireless:
- Telesat Philippines
- Smart CommunicationsSmart CommunicationsSmart Communications is a wholly owned mobile phone and Internet service subsidiary of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company .On June 30, 2010 the company reported that it had over 45 million cellular subscribers.-Brands:...
- Smart Broadband
- SmartConnect Holdings (Singapore)
- SmartConnect Global (Singapore)
- 3rd Brand (Singapore, 85%-owned affiliate)
- I-Contacts Corporation
- Wolfpac Mobile
- Wireless Card
- Smarthub
- Ph Communications Holdings
- Francom Holdings
- CURE d/b/a Red MobileRed MobileRed Mobile , formerly ümobile and legally as Connectivity Unlimited Resource Enterprise, Inc. , is a wholly owned subsidiary of Smart Communications, the Philippines' largest mobile telecommunications company. When it was initially launched as ümobile, it used the CURE Universal Mobile...
- CURE d/b/a Red Mobile
- Pilipino Telephone CorporationPilipino Telephone CorporationThe Pilipino Telephone Corporation , commonly known as Piltel, is a holding company of the PLDT Group for its venture into the electricity distribution industry. Previously, it was one of the mobile and fixed-line telephone service providers in the Philippines...
(99.5%-owned subsidiary via Smart CommunicationsSmart CommunicationsSmart Communications is a wholly owned mobile phone and Internet service subsidiary of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company .On June 30, 2010 the company reported that it had over 45 million cellular subscribers.-Brands:...
)
- ACeS Philippines
- Mabuhay Satellite (67%-owned affiliate)
Fixed-Line:
- PLDT Clark Telecom
- PLDT Subic Telecom
- Smart-NTT Multimedia
- PLDT Global
- PLDT US
- PLDT US Retail
- PLDT UK
- PLDT HK
- PLDT HK 1528
- PLDT HK Ltd
- PLDT SG
- PLDT SG Retail Services
- PLDT-Maratel (97.8%-owned affiliate)
- Bonifacio Communications Corporation (75%-owned affiliate)
- PLDT-PhilCom Corporation (100%-owned affiliate)
Information and Communications Technology:
- ePLDT
- ABM Global Solutions formerly BayanTrade, Inc.
- ePLDT VentusEPLDT VentusePLDT Ventus, Inc., now rebranded as SPi CRM, is a subsidiary of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company , a telecommunications solutions provider in the Philippines...
- Vocativ Systems
- Parlance Systems
- SPi TechnologiesSPi TechnologiesSPi Technologies, Inc. is a business process outsourcing provider with offices and facilities across North America, Europe, and Asia. The company has 11,000 employees providing call center and outsourcing services to more than 150 companies...
- Infocom Technologies (99.6%-owned affiliate)
- iPlus Intelligent Network, Inc.
- Digital Paradise Thailand (87.5%-owned affiliate in Thailand)
- netGames (80%-owned affiliate)
- Digital ParadiseDigital ParadiseDigital Paradise Incorporated is an ePLDT company and is owner and operator of the Philippines largest and fastest growing Internet café chain, Netopia Internet Café and other shared access facilities such as Extreme Gaming Grounds.-History:...
(75%-owned affiliate) - Level Up! (60%-owned affiliate)
Broadcasting:
- MediaQuest Holdings, Inc.MediaQuest Holdings, Inc.MediaQuest Holdings, Inc. is a media conglomerate owned by the Beneficial Trust Fund of the PLDT. It owns most of the media establishments such as Associated Broadcasting Company , Nation Broadcasting Corporation , Cignal Digital TV , and a 30% interest in BusinessWorld Publishing Corporation and...
- Associated Broadcasting CompanyAssociated Broadcasting CompanyThe Associated Broadcasting Company, Inc is a television network in the Philippines, with main broadcast facilities and transmitter located at 762 Quirino Highway, San Bartolome, Novaliches, Quezon City. The network was previously known as the , Associated Broadcasting Company remains the legal...
- Nation Broadcasting CorporationNation Broadcasting CorporationNation Broadcasting Corporation is a pioneer radio and TV network operating in the Philippines since 1963. NBC is currently a subsidiary of MediaQuest Holdings, Inc.. This station offices and studios are located at 762 Quirino Highway, San Bartolome, Novaliches, Quezon City...
- GV Broadcasting Systems/MediaScape
- Cignal Digital TVCignal Digital TVCignal Digital TV is a subscription-based Direct-To-Home satellite television service provider in the Philippines. Cignal is owned by MediaScape, a wholly owned subsidiary of the MediaQuest Holdings, Inc...
- BusinessWorldBusinessWorldBusinessWorld is a business newspaper in the Philippines. Its forerunner, BusinessDay, whose maiden issue came out on February 27,1967, was Southeast Asia’s first business daily. As of September 2011, it has a daily circulation of 65,000....
(30%-owned affiliate) - Unitel Group (30%-owned affiliate)
- Associated Broadcasting Company
Wireless
- See: Smart CommunicationsSmart CommunicationsSmart Communications is a wholly owned mobile phone and Internet service subsidiary of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company .On June 30, 2010 the company reported that it had over 45 million cellular subscribers.-Brands:...
, Red MobileRed MobileRed Mobile , formerly ümobile and legally as Connectivity Unlimited Resource Enterprise, Inc. , is a wholly owned subsidiary of Smart Communications, the Philippines' largest mobile telecommunications company. When it was initially launched as ümobile, it used the CURE Universal Mobile...
, Sun CellularSun CellularDigitel Mobile Philippines, Inc., is a mobile telecommunication service provider in the Philippines doing business as Sun Cellular. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Digital Telecommunications Philippines, or Digitel. Digitel is in turn owned by the JG Summit Group with a minority stake...
PLDT reported that as of September 11, 2011, its mobile phone
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
subscriber base reached 47,780,121 users, combining subscribers using Smart, Talk 'N Text, and Red Mobile.
Companies owning shares in PLDT
- First PacificFirst PacificFirst Pacific Company Limited is a Hong Kong-based investment and management company with operations located in Asia. It involves telecommunications, consumer food products and infrastructure. Its chairman is Anthoni Salim , an Indonesian Chinese entrepreneur....
: 26% - Nippon Telegraph and TelephoneNippon Telegraph and Telephone, commonly known as NTT, is a Japanese telecommunications company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. Ranked the 31st in Fortune Global 500, NTT is the largest telecommunications company in Asia, and the second-largest in the world in terms of revenue....
: 21% - Fidelity InvestmentsFidelity InvestmentsFMR LLC or Fidelity Investments is an American multinational financial services corporation one of the largest mutual fund and financial services groups in the world. It was founded in 1946 and serves North American investors. Fidelity Ventures is its venture capital arm...
: 5% - Other owners (includes government and public stock): 48%
PLDT's shares in other companies
Twenty percent of Meralco shall be sold to PLDT, according to the Lopez family who owns the Philippine's largest electric distributor on March 13, 2009. The deal is set to be done in the third quarter of 2009 with the cost of 20 billion pesos. The said action was done to prevent the hostile takeover of San Miguel Corporation, which already owns a large portion of Meralco.Competition
PLDT's main competitors are Globe TelecomGlobe Telecom
Globe Telecom , commonly known as Globe, is a telecommunications company in the Philippines. Globe provides mobile, fixed line, and broadband Internet services.- History :In 1928, Congress passed Act No...
and Digitel
Digital Telecommunications Philippines
Digital Telecommunications Phils., Inc. , commonly known as Digitel, is the second-largest fixed-line and the third-largest mobile telecommunications company in the Philippines...
in both the fixed-line
Telephone
The telephone , colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that transmits and receives sounds, usually the human voice. Telephones are a point-to-point communication system whose most basic function is to allow two people separated by large distances to talk to each other...
and mobile
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
(via Smart's competition with Globe and Sun Cellular) markets. Bayan Telecommunications
Bayan Telecommunications
Bayan Telecommunications, Inc. is a telecommunications company serving areas in Metro Manila, Bicol and local exchange service areas in the Visayas and Mindanao regions combined cover a population of over 25 million, nearly 33% of the population of the Philippines.Its operating units in the...
(BayanTel) is also a major fixed-line competitor of PLDT.
Sports
PLDT, via its 99.5%-owned subsidiary Pilipino Telephone CorporationPilipino Telephone Corporation
The Pilipino Telephone Corporation , commonly known as Piltel, is a holding company of the PLDT Group for its venture into the electricity distribution industry. Previously, it was one of the mobile and fixed-line telephone service providers in the Philippines...
, owns the Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters Philippine Basketball Association
Philippine Basketball Association
The Philippine Basketball Association , is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines composed of 10 company-branded franchised teams. It is the first and oldest professional basketball league in Asia and the second oldest in the world after the NBA...
team.
PLDT also previously owned, via a partnership with its wholly owned Smart Communications subsidiary and the Ateneo de Manila University
Ateneo de Manila University
The Ateneo de Manila University is a private teaching and research university run by the Society of Jesus in the Philippines. It began in 1859 when the City of Manila handed control of the Escuela Municipal de Manila in Intramuros, Manila, to the Jesuits...
(of which Panginilan is an alumnus), the Addict Mobile-Ateneo basketball team of the Philippine Basketball League
Philippine Basketball League
The Philippine Basketball League is a commercial semi-professional basketball league in the Philippines. The league is composed of several commercial teams with several collegiate and provincial stars.-History:...
.
Complaints
- A review on Smart Communications service
- Pasaload Complaint from a user
- TxtPower Complaint for Smart Bro, Smart Wifi
- Smart Subscribers have most complaints-NTC
- Consumer complaint to NTC to stop Smart Bro wireless Internet
- Smart Wifi Subscribers unite to email-flood NTC
- Various news about PLDT
- No to Metering website -- part of the consumer reaction to PLDT's plan to impose mandatory landline metering
- How PLDT Stole my Money