PLDT to stop selling USD3 pre-paid landline service

The Philippines’ dominant telecoms company, Philippine Long Distance Telephone (PLDT), has announced it will no longer be selling its USD3 per month pre-paid fixed line service teletipid (or telesulit), due to technical problems encountered in maintaining its delivery. PLDT told customers on Friday it would discontinue the service from 1 May next year. Customers will be able to top up their credits until 1 November 2007 and will then be given six months to use up their account balance. PLDT senior vice-president Butch Jimenez said: ‘Due to the various technical problems of the platform which carries these services, PLDT is constrained to discontinue providing [them]…by May 1, 2008 by which time such platform shall be fully retired.’ The teletipid service allows users to load credits on pre-paid cards for a minimum PHP150 (USD3.36) per month, or PHP500 for two months. This compares with the operator’s standard fixed line contract rate of USD20.21 per month. PLDT is now offering an alternative pre-paid service, dubbed telepwede, which allows customers to access its landline, mobile and internet service using a single re-loadable card.