Lopez-owned Bayan Telecommunications (Bayan) and Philippine Global Communications (Philcom) have interconnected their facilities in Cagayan de Oro, allowing subscribers of Bayan Wireless Landline (BWL) and Philcom’s landline to make local calls to each other without using a long distance number as mandated by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC).
“Our subscribers as well as those of Philcom can now call their relatives, friends and business associates directly using the seven-digit number without having to use a long distance circuit,” according to Mauro Santos, Bayan vice president for regional markets.
Bayan currently operates its BWL service in Cagayan de Oro with almost 5,000 subscribers while Philcom claims to have the most number of subscribers among the five landline service providers in the city.
“This direct connection is a welcome boon to the subscribers of both telecoms and will redound to better service aligned to our desire of a world-class Cagayan de Oro,” Rodolfo Menes, president of the Cagayan de Oro Chamber of Commerce and Industry Foundation Inc. (Oro Chamber) noted.
“We welcome this initiative between Bayan and Philcom to interconnect without prejudice to their subscribers,” acording to NTC Region 10 director Teodoro Buenavista Jr. “Without a doubt, this will serve to further promote the economic growth and progress of Cagayan de Oro City.”
Santos said the technical groups of the two companies are now conducting tests to ensure the seamless integration of both subscribers into one interconnected system and so far, tests have proven positive.