Being the southernmost town in the province of Tarlac, the municipality of Bamban has long yearned for a solid internet backbone that will connect the mountainous region and bridge the digital divide among its citizens and constituents.
In his ninth and final term as the highest-ranking official in the municipality, Mayor Jose Antonio T. Feliciano shares that Bamban's dream of becoming a connected and digitally transformed town has finally come true—thanks to its newest partnership with PLDT Enterprise.
"We would like to take this opportunity to thank PLDT for enabling our dream which has long been forgotten. It's my last term, my ninth year, and ngayon lang po natupad ang pangarap namin," Mayor Feliciano says.
As part of its ongoing efforts to equip local government units (LGU) with digital services especially during the global health crisis, PLDT Enterprise strengthens Bamban's communications and connectivity infrastructure that will allow the municipality to further improve its public services and governance.
Prior to the partnership, the LGU had to contend with stand-alone setups, with its different departments using various ISP providers without the help of an IT Department to manage and troubleshoot problems. As a result, inter-departmental communications and connectivity became difficult and unreliable, and LGU constituents had trouble accessing government offices and services.
"Before PLDT Enterprise and Smart, marami po kaming mga service provider pero hindi po ganun katatag ang binibigay na services. Now that we have changed the norm, that we have to digitize, I opted to have the framework and the backbone to be established in Bamban," Feliciano explains.
Today, PLDT Enterprise’s iGate Premium, SIP Trunks, and Cabling services are being installed to replace the old copper lines throughout the whole LGU communications network. And with a new IP PBX for voice communications, internal and external calls will be clearer and much easier. In addition, with PLDT Enterprise’s #myNumber service, a single public hotline number is expected to be announced soon to bring the LGU closer to the community. It can accept calls from both landline and cellular units without incurring additional costs for both the LGU and its constituents.
"With the fast and reliable services of PLDT and Smart, we could dream of things which are unprecedented. For example, with the dedicated phone number services could be given to our people 24/7. We would like to reach out all the individuals who would be needing our help and it will be very simple and easy for us to reach our countrymen," Feliciano adds.
PLDT’s fiber optic connection centralizes voice and data network through PLDT SIP Trunks and iGate Premium. The single hotline number assigned to Bamban, on the other hand, will benefit those in need of financial help or emergency assistance—even making reporting COVID-19 related cases much easier.
"With the health crisis we continue to face today, the role of the government becomes all the more significant for the citizens. And we're thankful for the trust given to us by the Municipality of Bamban, Tarlac mainly to serve their constituents better through a reliable internet connection and a centralized hotline number," says Vic Tria, PLDT FVP & Enterprise Revenue Group Head.
"Citizens who need financial help, emergency assistance, or those with health-related reports or inquiries can easily get in touch now with the municipality. These services are invaluable to the citizens right now. We are really thankful for the trust given to us by the Municipality of Bamban, Tarlac. We assure you of our unbreakable commitment to support your advocacies in order to be of service to your constituents," Tria adds.
With iGate Premium, Bamban’s network will have a dedicated high-speed internet connection that provides a high availability bandwidth to support their mission critical applications particularly in this time of the pandemic. It also enables them to properly manage and distribute their connection evenly per department to support their business needs, and leveraging the flexibility of an IP-based telephone system allows them to expand and use only what they need at a low cost.
Mayor Feliciano notes that with PLDT's digital backbone is in place, the municipality will be able to reach and help citizens especially those in the far flung areas of Tarlac. "We won't be stopping here. With the digital backbone here in the municipality, with the help of PLDT, we will be bringing the technology right to the doorsteps of my countrymen. We're glad that PLDT and Smart are always at our back." Feliciano concludes.
For more information on PLDT Enterprise, visit pldtenterprise.com.
Ross is known as the Pambansang Blogger ng Pilipinas - An Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Professional by profession and a Social Media Evangelist by heart.
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