Business I.T.

Deutsche Knowledge Services and Accenture have emerged as the new top corporate taxpayers in the country’s BPO sector, a lawmaker disclosed on Friday, May 3.

A wholly-owned subsidiary of Germany-based Deutsche Bank AG, Deutsche Knowledge Services ranked as the BPO industry’s No. 1 taxpayer, and No. 195 among all Philippine corporate taxpayers, with P116.88 million in income tax paid, according to reelectonist Pasig representative Romulo.

Accenture ranked as the industry’s No. 2 taxpayer, and No. 285 among all Philippine corporate taxpayers, with P75.25 million in income tax paid.

Romulo said the rankings were based on the Bureau of Internal Revenue’s new list…

In what could be a game-changer in the field of mobile and e-commerce, the Bank of Philippine Islands (BPI) has begun the deployment of a new solution in which a dongle could transform a mobile phone or Wi-Fi-enabled tablet into a mobile Point-of-Sale (mPOS) system.

Launched officially on Friday, April 28, at the Cucina Andare night market in Glorietta 3 Park, the BPI mPOS is the first of its kind in the country that allows business owners to accept credit card payments with…

Over a million people have downloaded and are now using SmartNet, the mobile application platform developed by Smart Communications to to allow its subscribers to use mobile Internet services safely and affordably.

“This is a major milestone in our efforts to promote mobile Internet usage in the country,” said Orlando B. Vea, Smart’s chief wireless advisor.

“Available on Android, iOs and Windows operating systems, SmartNet is a Filipino innovation that provides a model for other emerging markets where subscribers have limited budgets for Internet services,” he added.

Introduced in 2011, SmartNet has gained ground because it offers a suite…

Globe Telecom on Monday, April 29, said its post-paid packages for the Samsung Galaxy S4 as the best in the industry since it gives subscribers the power to determine the number of months in their contracts.

For P1,599 monthly, subscribers can avail of the Samsung Galaxy S4 under the Globe My Super Plan 999 with P600 monthly cashout over a 24-month contract period only.

Under this permanent offer, subscribers get unlimited LTE surfing of up to 42 Mbps on the Globe LTE network plus free calls and texts.

The Samsung Galaxy S4 is also available at lower plans with…

Smart Communications has unveiled an unlimited LTE plan bundled with the new Samsung Galaxy S4, touted as the world’s most advanced Android phone.

The Samsung Galaxy S4 is free with the Smart Unli Data Plan 2000, which comes with unlimited LTE connectivity and 200 SMS and 150 minutes of calls to all networks. Subscribers, however, must finish a 30-month contract.

The offering was announced as Smart continued to expand its LTE network to more areas outside Metro Manila such as Ilocos Norte, Tagaytay City, Bohol, Bacolod City, and Davao del Sur.

Smart has close to 1,000 LTE-enabled sites located in over…

Telecoms executive Noel Lorenzana, a rising star in the PLDT group, was named president of TV5, replacing lawyer Ray Espinosa who have been assigned as the head of government and regulatory affairs and communications at First Pacific.

Charles Lim, an old-hand in the highly competitive mobile phone industry, will replace Lorenzana as of the individual business for the PLDT Group.

The appointments, which will take effect on June 1, 2013, were made by head honcho Manuel V. Pangilinan in a press statement issued on Tuesday, April 23.

Espinosa, who will be based in Manila, will also assist the First Pacific…

Cloud services provider IP Converge Data Services launched on Monday, April 22, what it said is the “first and only online payment facility for cloud services” in the Philippines.

Through its Web portal cloud.com.ph, consumers and companies can now subscribe and make use of IP-Converge Cloud Servers on-demand via all major credit cards.

IP-Converge is unit of telco giant PLDT.

“This is a historical development in the local Cloud Services arena and we are indeed very proud to be the first to provide this service to Filipino businesses and entrepreneurs,” said IP-Converge president Reynaldo R. Huergas.

“No other provider offers locally…

Mobile operator Smart Communications rolled out on Friday, April 19, what is touted as the “first and only prepaid LTE service” in the country .

“If you have always wanted to try out the fastest wireless broadband technology in the world but are not keen on subscribing to a postpaid service, Smart prepaid LTE is just the ticket,” said Smart Broadband and Data Internet Service head Lloyd Manaloto.

For as low as P350 for a SIM-only kit, anyone with an LTE-enabled mobile Internet device can have connection speeds of up to 42Mbps with Smart’s LTE network.

“Our SIM-only product comes in different…

Ayala-led Globe Telecom said it is considering the possibility of providing “rich content” to mobile subscribers now that it is close to acquiring Bayan Telecommunications after buying its debts from its creditors.

At press briefing following its annual stockholders meeting in Makati City, Globe CEO Ernest Cu said the company is looking at the content delivery model of Bayan, which is currently a sister firm of broadcast giant ABS-CBN under the Lopez Group.

Cu, however, did not elaborate on the plan as Globe has yet to formally acquire Bayan, which is still under court rehabilitation.

If pursued, the Globe-Bayan-ABS-CBN alliance is…

The Philippine back offices of global corporations will help drive the creation of thousands of new jobs in the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector this year, a lawmaker said Sunday.

“We have high hopes that our BPO sector can easily achieve, possibly even surpass, the target to add some 146,000 full-time jobs this year,” said re-electionist Pasig City Rep. Roman Romulo.

“The in-house centers here of large firms have greater permanence, since they are fully owned extensions of parent entities with durable core businesses requiring constant support,” Romulo said.

“Compared to independent BPO contractors, these back offices are largely immune…