The Philippines’ leading integrated telco network PLDT Inc. (PLDT) rallies communities and customers to exercise vigilance against individuals falsely presenting themselves as PLDT personnel.  This is in connection with rising incidents of unauthorized modem collection across more Mindanao areas, including General Santos, Cotabato and Zamboanga.  

“We reiterate our call for customers to transact only with authorized PLDT personnel, especially inside their homes, and to always check for proper identification in case of doubt,” said Cathy Yang, First Vice President and Group Head of Corporate Communications at PLDT & Smart. “PLDT personnel will never collect modems from customers without replacing them first.  Our campaign is part of PLDT Group’s strengthening of its asset protection efforts as part of a broader program to elevate the quality of customer experience.”

PLDT earlier raised this warning for customers in Davao City, where subscribers have reported that unidentified persons claiming to be PLDT personnel entered their homes and collected their PLDT Fibr modems, disrupting repair and restoration services.

In line with the PLDT Group's continuous initiatives to improve customer service and protect its physical assets, PLDT activated Hotline 164, where citizens nationwide can report similar incidents that often lead to service disruption, including unauthorized modem retrieval, cable theft and cable breakage. Persons who would like to report such incidents can do so by calling "164" on their landline or mobile phone, regardless of network.

PLDT is also spearheading the National Telecommunications Security Council (NTSC), an industry-wide informal alliance for the mutual protection of telecommunications infrastructure nationwide. The NTSC is composed of corporate security professionals from the different telecommunications companies in the country.

PLDT operates the country's most extensive fiber infrastructure. As of end-September, PLDT had expanded its total fiber footprint to about 1.09 million kilometers, consisting of over 231,000 kilometers of international fiber and almost 860,000 kilometers of domestic fiber. PLDT's fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) services as of end-September had passed some 16.8 million homes and covered 17,000 barangays nationwide.

This fiber network also supports Smart's mobile network, covers about 97% of the population with 3G, LTE, and 5G.