PLDT Inc. and Globe Telecom Inc. have seen a significant increase in data traffic, a week since Luzon was placed under an enhanced community quarantine.
PLDT and its wireless unit Smart Communications Inc.’s mobile and fixed broadband data traffic has grown by around 15 percent to 20 percent a week after the enhanced community quarantine.
“On the part of PLDT, this is not surprising given that we have provided a speed boost for our fiber customers in the Greater Manila area. Mobile data usage is also increasing along with voice calls and SMS (short messaging service),” PLDT said in a statement.
PLDT also noted a shift in traffic that used to originate from offices are now coming from homes. The fixed and mobile networks of PLDT and Smart as a whole have the capacity to handle the increased traffic in data as well as in calls and SMS, the company said.
It added that its network improvement continues, to address the increasing demand for bandwidth.
“We are not standing still and are taking steps to expand the capacity of our networks, particularly for data. We are for example increasing the capacity of our international cable networks which will improve our ability to carry Internet traffic which comes mainly from overseas. We are also significantly increasing the capacity of our domestic transport network by utilizing our newly installed transformed transport fiber network,” PLDT said.
The company added it is exerting all efforts to continue maintenance activities despite the difficulties arising from the quarantine measures being implemented to contain the coronavirus disease outbreak.
The sudden rise in COVID-19 cases in the Philippines has jumpstarted the adoption of telecommuting among businesses in the country, thus further raising the demand for mobile data and broadband connectivity, according to Globe.
“Given the present-day realities with enterprises deciding to adopt flexible work arrangements, employees need to be able to collaborate and be productive anywhere they may be and in real-time, for businesses to continue to operate efficiently. That is why we are doing our best to provide our clients with the tools to help them optimize the way they do business,” said Peter Maquera, Globe Business senior vice president.
Maquera mentioned that cloud-based software will allow employees to easily work together on a project in real-time even if they are in different locations.
For instance, through G Suite, employees can easily store, access, edit and share their files wherever they may be. Office 365, on the other hand, offers a feature-rich set of Microsoft programs for those who work well with a desktop at home.
Zoom Video Conferencing can enable teams with a reliable cloud platform for video and audio conferencing, collaboration, chat and webinars across mobile devices, desktops, telephones and room systems.
These initiatives are also in response to the government’s challenge for telecom companies to level up their game with the enactment of Republic Act 11165 or the Telecommuting Act last year.
The Telecommuting Act was envisioned to ease the traffic problems in metropolitan areas. It institutionalized telecommuting, wherein employees are allowed to work from an alternative workplace using information and communication technology tools.
