Telecommunications giant, Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT) is going to start its full-blown organizational and network overhaul this January, to prepare the implementation of the Next Generation Network (NGN).
PLDT public relations head Ramon Isberto announced that PLDT’s entire fixed line business will be upgraded from analog to all-digital technology, allowing NGN to rule the entire landline business of PLDT across the country.
He said the company has to make radical changes in its present organizational set-up, as going into all-digital landline network technology need a different operational requirement.
Changes in PLDT’s executive level will be formally implemented early January 2008, a new corporate group head will be appointed, while the company will create a special team to manage the NGN business.
He added PLDT will also implement internal streamlining measures, as fixed line business will go into full Information Communication Technology (ICT) set up.
“PLDT will create full time managers to implement the new business in fixed line through the NGN technology. We have to overhaul some things, including organizational streamlining,” he said in an interview.
With NGN, PLDT will be able to offer voice, data and video services on a single network platform. In 2006, the company began deploying landline facilities using NGN on a pilot basis.
To date, there are already about 50,000 NGN lines in the country, Isberto said, these are capable of handling not only traditional voice but also high-speed data.
According to Isberto, there is a need for the entire PLDT operations to be prepared for the NGN roll-out, thus re-organization or company structure overhauled was decided.
We are preparing the organization to do full blown NgN business,” he emphasized.
This implementation is part of the company’s P30 billion investments to change its analog fixed line service to digital or NGN technology.
“We will eventually replace all the switches to soft-switch that will be software-operated. These switch are non-proprietary, these are software-run switches,” he said.
At this point, the company is working for its NGN full implementation review, to identify priority for major NGN deployment, especially in the key cities in the Philippines.
“We have to review so many things, like business processes, structural,” he added.
Despite the roll out this sophisticated telephone line technology, Isberto said subscribers’ monthly cost, is not going to be a problem.
Historically, he said technology like cellular phone, Internet and PCs’ costs are going down, because of technology and competition.
PLDT has a total of 160 exchanges nationwide, all these are to be upgraded in staggered basis to pave the way for the NGN roll out. – Ehda M. Dagooc