Globe, PLDT provide COVID-19 frontliners with telecoms support

Local telecommunications companies Globe Telecom Inc. and PLDT Inc. announced on Tuesday that they had donated communications support to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) frontliners.

In a statement, Ayala-led Globe Telecom Inc. said it turned over 1,000 mobile phones to police, military, naval forces, and select hospitals nationwide, preloaded with a 30-day unlimited AllNet Call and Text to all networks.

"We understand the hardships that our frontliners are facing and we are thankful for their heroic deeds," Yolanda Crisanto, senior vice president for corporate communications, said.

"To help, we are doing our best to provide them with the connectivity they need to save lives, protect the public, and get in touch with their loved ones," she added.

According to Globe, the hospital beneficiaries include the Research Institute of Tropical Medicine, Philippine General Hospital, Philippine Heart Center, Lung Center of the Philippines, among others.

In a separate statement, PLDT said it deployed free cloud, push-to-talk (PTT) smartphones to healthcare frontliners such as healthcare workers, soldiers, policemen.

PLDT said the PTTs run on LTE mobile data network with nationwide coverage, with the speed and ease of use of two-way radios.

"These communications tools make it possible for users to send out or receive information more quickly and efficiently," said Juan Victor Hernandez, ePLDT President & CEO and SVP & Head for PLDT and Smart Enterprise Business Groups.

"In the context of the battle against coronavirus, the DOH leadership will be able to better support its health personnel on the ground at the COVID-19 referral hospitals," he added. — DVM, GMA News