The Philippines’ leading integrated telco network PLDT Inc. (PLDT) has renewed its calls for vigilance against persons falsely presenting themselves as PLDT personnel, amid rising incidents of unauthorized modem collection in Davao City, General Santos, and other key areas in Mindanao.

“We have received more reports of modems being taken from our subscribers' homes by persons misrepresenting themselves as PLDT personnel. We strongly encourage our customers to report these incidents to their local authorities, and to transact only with authorized PLDT personnel. In case of doubt, always check for proper identification,” said Cathy Yang, First Vice President and Group Head of PLDT and Smart. "PLDT Group’s initiatives to ramp-up asset protection efforts are part of a broader program to level-up our customers' experience on our network,” she added.

PLDT earlier raised this warning for customers in Mindanao areas such as Cotabato and Zamboanga, as well as in Pangasinan and in Central Luzon, where subscribers have also 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-March 2023, PLDT had expanded its total fiber footprint to more than 1.1 million kilometers, consisting of over 231,000 kilometers of international fiber and over 874,000 kilometers of domestic fiber. PLDT's fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) services as of end-March 2023 had passed around 17.2 million homes in 42% of the country's barangays.

This fiber network also supports Smart's mobile network, covering about 97% of the population with 2G, 3G, LTE, and 5G.