PLDT to invest P4.5 B in new unit

The Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co.(PLDT) is set to invest around P4.5 billion ($100 million) in a new subsidiary that will provide the country’s first direct-to-home satellite broadcast, hopefully this year.

PLDT president and chief executive officer Manuel V. Pangilinan told The STAR that the venture will be under Mediaco, a new company that will be put up by PLDT to house all its media-related investments, which include Home Cable, Nation Broadcasting Corp. (NBC), GMA 7, Dish Network which is the direct-to-home venture.

Pangilinan said that PLDT is currently scouting for a partner for its direct-to-home venture to provide the content.

Fourteen transponders will be put up, 10 of which will be for video, two for audio, and two for Internet.

Direct-to-home entails putting up a satellite dish on top of one’s house, allowing the subscriber to have access to around 200 channels from different parts of the globe.

Pangilinan admitted that the new venture will compete with PLDT subsidiary Home Cable, but said the customers have to have a choice.

Contrary to common perception that direct-to-home will be expensive and beyond the reach of the average Filipino, the PLDT chief said the rates will be very affordable. "For the basic service, the fee will only be P5,000," he told The STAR.

He said that in the United States and other countries, direct-to-home is very common, especially in areas which cannot be reached by cable.

"There are still many areas in the Philippines which do not have cable services. That is where they need a satellite," he said.

As part of its convergence strategy, PLDT set up ePLDT in August of last year to serve as the principal corporate vehicle for the company’s Internet, e-commerce, and multi-media initiatives and ventures.