Leading telecoms and digital services provider PLDT is pursuing a new program to equip more than 2,300 public transport buses with high-speed Wifi connectivity.

Through its corporate business unit, PLDT Enterprise, PLDT has partnered with the Provincial Bus Operators Association of the Philippines (PBOAP) to equip their members with Wifi connectivity, CCTV monitoring, and vehicle tracking through the ‘SmartBus’ suite of services from the Smart Biz LTE bundle.

“Giving the commuting public easy and fast access to the internet through our Smart Biz LTE can help take their mind away from this daily grind, and enable them to be more productive by doing more tasks while in transit. Apart from the Wifi service that is well appreciated by their customers, we’ve received positive feedback from our partner bus operators that the Smart Bus suite of services gives them peace of mind regarding the security of their bus units, their personnel and their riding patrons,” said PLDT SVP and Head of Enterprise Jovy Hernandez.

The ‘SmartBus’ suite aids bus operators to comply with the government’s plans to modernize the country’s public bus transport system which includes requiring bus operators to install a GPS monitoring device in their buses for commuter safety.

“The package comes with an industrial-grade robust modem router able to resist heat and vibration, and that auto reboots to refresh its connection. It can accommodate up to 25 users simultaneously and has a bandwidth shaper feature which allows more users to connect, delivering LTE speeds,” said PLDT FVP and Head of SME Business Mitch Locsin.

“Our initial roll out has been a huge success, and we are partnering with more bus operators within the year to equip their bus units with high-speed connectivity. By the end of the year, over 2,300 buses nationwide will be fitted with the SmartBus solution benefiting millions of our commuting public,” he added.

“The Smart Biz LTE helped us a lot in operations of our buses. We earned a lot of recognition from our customers. We can say that Smart Biz LTE is better than using pocket Wifi devices as connectivity is more stable and consistent. This has really helped us enhance service to our customers which has resulted in achieving better sales growth,” said Felgin Caalin, IT Head of First North Luzon, one of the first bus operators to implement the service.