PLDT announced on Wednesday, Sept. 4, that it has entered into an agreement with the Durano family-owned Danao Telecom (Datelco), the sole telco provider in Danao City in Cebu province, to provide telecommunications services in the city following Datelco’s decision to wind down its local exchange (LEC) business.
“We welcome this opportunity to further expand our coverage in Cebu where we recently rolled out our fiber-to-the-home facilities,” PLDT president and CEO Napoleon Nazareno said in a statement.
In an agreement signed by the two firms, Datelco will transfer its existing customers to PLDT?s network. In return, PLDT paid an unspecified amount of money to the Durano family.
PLDT?s takeover in the operations means it will take the place of Datelco as the telco operator in the area. Datelco has a small base of subscribers, but PLDT said it has the potential to serve a potential customer base of 10,000.
The two companies also agreed to embark on joint marketing and promotions of PLDT?s products and services in Cebu?s fifth district.
After more than 20 years of operations, Datelco is winding down its LEC business as the cost of upgrading its own network became untenable.
“We are pleased to turn over our customers to PLDT who we believe will be able to take care of them very well,” said Datelco President Oscar Rodriguez.
“Being the largest telecoms company in the Philippines today, PLDT will be able to provide Danao’s residents and business establishments quality voice, data, and even emerging multimedia services.”
“Coupled with the various economic programs being implemented in the city, we are excited by the possibilities that the entry of PLDT will bring not only to the people of Danao City but also to nearby municipalities. We definitely see PLDT as a partner in promoting the economic growth of the city and nearby areas,” Rodriguez added.
The deal was announced as PLDT led the Philippine hosting of the 9th Asian Carriers Conference at the Mactan Shangri-la Hotel in Cebu.
PLDT has in the past acquired local telephone companies such as SubicTel, Clarktel in Central Luzon, Maranao Telecoms, CruzTelco Cluster 3 and Philcom in Mindanao.
“Beyond the agreement that we signed today, we are genuinely interested in joining hands with Datelco in contributing to the development of areas north of Metro Cebu city that holds so much promise,” PLDT’s Nazareno concluded.
PLDT also introduced recently its ultra-fast Fibr service in Cebu, initially covering around 40 areas. Fibr which is PLDT Home’s most powerful broadband allows lag-free simultaneous streaming of content, free access to Hollywood blockbuster movies via clickplay.ph, and free HD channels from Cignal.
