PLDT to establish communication linkages
and services during 12th ASEAN summit
CEBU, Philippines, November 29, 2006 – Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT) will provide vital communication linkages and services during the 12th ASEAN Summit from December 11 to 14, 2006, in Cebu, to help ensure the success of this event.
To be attended by 18 heads of states and around 3,000 delegates, officials and media practitioners, the four-day summit has huge communications requirements. To support these needs, PLDT has installed state-of-the-art broadband and redundant facilities in the following major summit venues: Cebu International Convention Center (CICC), Shangri-La’s Mactan Island Resort and Spa, Waterfront Lahug Hotel, Marco Polo Hotel and Plantation Bay. It is also working on the installation of facilities at the Mactan-Cebu International Airport.
“We are honored to help the country host the 12th ASEAN Summit in Cebu,” said Napoleon L. Nazareno, President and Chief Executive Officer of PLDT and Smart. “The entire PLDT Group has joined hands to provide the Summit the required telecommunications support through our full range of products and services—fixed, mobile and Internet.”
As part of its preparations, PLDT has installed next generation network (NGN) facilities in various event sites. To ensure continuity of service, redundant facilities using PLDT’s existing equipment are also in place.
Much of the activities, including ministerial meetings, will be held at Shangri-La’s Mactan Island Resort and Spa where the leaders of various participating nations will also stay.
PLDT has already installed the required number of landlines at major venues for the summit. Most of the lines are equipped with NDD/IDD and DSL features.
To complement these, Smart has expanded and optimized the roll-out of Wi-Fi hotspots, 2G and 3G facilities in key areas in Cebu. As of press time, these facilities are already operational at the Shangri-La’s Mactan Island Resort and Spa, Waterfront Lahug, Marco Polo, Mactan-Cebu International Airport’s Most Important Persons (MIP) Lounge, Portofino Resort and at CICC. These WiFi connections are enabled by PLDT Port and Smart Hotzone.
Smart will also set up WiFi facilities in the following areas: PLDT business offices in Lapu-lapu City near Gaisano Mactan and Mandaue City, PLDT Jones Exchange, Smart Ground Floor Conference Room in Mabolo, and Mactan-Cebu International Airport.
An international media center (IMC) will be established at the CICC to ensure effective press coverage. For the local media, a press center will be set up at the ground floor of the Smart building in Mabolo.
National media delegates can also use WiFi facilities in the following sites: Shangri-La’s Mactan Island Resort and Spa, Portofino, IMC at CICC and the MIP Lounge at Mactan-Cebu International Airport if they have passes to this highly-restricted area at the airport. Aside from that, Smart Bro on Mobile (SMART BroOM) will be deployed near the CICC for the use of the media.
Booths and info kiosks will be put up in all the major summit venues to address customer service concerns of participants, especially the local and national media. The booths and info kiosks will be manned by the PLDT Group’s Sales, Customer Care, and Public Affairs/Media Relations personnel.
Delegates can also communicate with their families and relatives abroad through PLDT’s TouchCard/Pwede cards as well as Smart’s voice and text short messaging servicing and IDD/Roaming services.
Delegates arriving from NAIA will be provided readily activated roaming feature in their cellular phones. Cellphone and WeRoam rentals will be made available for delegates.
Other products and services to be highlighted during the event are data multi-media service, payphone, as well as satellite booking through PLDT’s Mabuhay Satellite.
Summit participants can call a customer service hotline 23-ASEAN (23-27924) for any concerns related to their communication services.
With the theme “One Caring and Sharing Community,” the Philippine chairmanship of the 12th ASEAN Summit is aimed at steering ASEAN closer to realizing its vision of an ASEAN Community by 2020.
The theme also reflects the initiatives to be taken by the Philippines in ASEAN community building and the participation of the common people, recognizing the youth as the strength of ASEAN, the builders of ASEAN’s bridges to the future.