PLDT prepares for BPL rollout

The Philippines’ dominant telecoms group Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT) has revealed it will be ready to roll out broadband over powerlines (BPL) technology in six to twelve months, the Daily Inquirer reports. The telco’s move into BPL technology is a by-product of the group’s acquisition of a controlling stake in the country’s largest power distribution company Manila Electric Co (Meralco), and will allow PLDT to offer broadband services to virtually all Meralco’s 24 million-strong customer base in and around Metro Manila. According to PLDT chairman Manuel V Pangilinan, BPL trials in parts of Malabon, started in July and ‘seem to be doing fine’. The chairman went on the say though that more needs to be done and that a widespread rollout timetable would tend to suggest a six- to twelve-month timeframe.