PHILIPPINE Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (PT&T) is looking to team up with a Chinese company to provide free wireless broadband services in public areas around the country.
In a disclosure to the stock exchange, PT&T Senior Vice-President and Chief Information Officer Arturo T. Falco said the company has signed a memorandum of agreement (MoA) with Chengdu Zhongxing Tiantong Technology Corp. The MoA will be effective for 90 days.
“The purpose of the agreement is to explore the feasibility of engaging in a project that will provide free wireless broadband services in designated public areas before, during and after the occurrence of disasters in any part of the country,” he said.
PT&T and Chengdu Zhongxing Tiantong Technology will conduct a feasibility study on the project.
“Actual participation of the each party shall be discussed after the conclusion of the said study and will be reflected in the definitive agreement that may be reached by the parties,” Mr. Falco said.
In an interview with BusinessWorld last week, PT&T Chairman Salvador B. Zamora II said the company will tap Chengdu Outwitcom, a wireless communication and networking technology provider and a wholly owned subsidiary of Chengdu Zhongxing Tiantong Technology Co. for the broadband network.
Mr. Zamora said Chengdu Outwitcom was able to roll out Wi-Fi service in the outdoor areas of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) complex during the 31st Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit and meetings last month.
“It was their contribution for ASEAN 50. Their signal was so strong that even the delegates who were inside the ASEAN 50 were using their Wi-Fi. Most delegates ended up using their facilities,” he said, adding the company was able to roll out the service in just one week.
PT&T is also in “preliminary” talks with China Telecom, which Malacañang earlier said the Chinese government picked to enter the Philippine market.
While hopeful of a deal with China Telecom, Mr. Zamora said they will still continue its national broadband network rollout “with or without” the Chinese company.
