Froehlich Tours Qualifies to Operate Additional Route for Point-to-Point Bus Service

 

Wazzup Pilipinas!

The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) on Thursday issued a Board Resolution announcing the qualification of Froehlich Tours, Inc. to operate two (2) additional premium point-to-point (P2P) routes. These two routes are North EDSA - Makati City and North EDSA – Ortigas.

The Board invited interested bus companies to submit qualification documents to provide P2P in the two routes.

Three bus companies namely: City Bus Inc., Laguna Star Bus Transportation System, and Froelich Tours, Inc. submitted qualification documents.

The Board’s Pre-Qualification Committee with the assistance of the Technical Working Group (TWG) and in the presence of observers from the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) and the Office of the Cabinet Secretary after carefully opening and evaluating the qualification documents submitted by the three participants, decided that only Froelich Tours, Inc. passed and qualified the qualification process.

The Pre-Qualification Committee, in its Resolution dated 10 February 2016, recommended that Froelich be directed to inform the Board within 48 hours from the receipt of the Notice of Selection of its intention to operate an interim service on the routes it applied for based on the specifications and operating condition set forth under Memorandum Circular 2016-001.

Globe Board OKs P22/share Cash Dividend; Allots Capex of Up to $750M for 2016

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Globe Telecom said its board approved the declaration of a first quarter cash dividend of P22 per share for common shares. The dividend will be paid to shareholders on record as of February 22, 2016, with payment date on March 4, 2016.

“The dividend payout is in line with the policy of distributing 75%-90% of prior year’s core net income,” said Rizza Maniego-Eala, Globe Acting Chief Finance Officer, adding the quarter’s dividend payment totals about P2.9 billion. On an annualized basis, the dividends represent a payout of 77% of 2015 core net income.

Notwithstanding its dividend payment, Globe is also allocating a capital expenditure of up to $750 million for 2016, of which majority will be related to data, including spend for deployment of LTE mobile and LTE @Home, increased network capacities and coverage as well as enhancement of fixed line data infrastructure and transmission facilities. The company’s aggressive stance to continue investing in its network reach and capacity is geared towards enhancing its customers’ digital lifestyle.

Globe Telecom’s spending for its network infrastructure is one of the highest among Asian operators over the last two years, as it devotes up to 24% of annual revenues for its infrastructure build. Based on publicly available regulatory reports, Globe had a capex to revenue ratio of 28% in 2015, and 27% in 2014 for both wireless and wireline, which were higher than the Philippine telecommunications industry average of 23% in both 2015 and 2014.

Lumia 550 Now Available in the Philippines

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Microsoft today announced the availability of the Lumia 550 in the Philippines for only PHP6490. 

The newest smartphone to join the Lumia family, the Lumia 550 is our most affordable 4G LTE smartphone with Windows 10, signature Microsoft apps and services such as Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint)***, Cortana ****, OneDrive, Outlook Mail and Outlook Calendar on a premium 4.7” HD display.

· Enjoy the familiarity of Windows 10, with Microsoft Office apps tailored to your screen size and OneDrive cloud storage so that you can view, create, and edit documents on the go

· See and do more with a premium 4.7” HD display even in bright sunlight, whether you are reviewing documents, looking at photos or watching videos

· Stay on top of everything in your life with Cortana, your truly personal digital assistant, that helps you be more productive and stay organised by completing basic tasks like sending emails, scheduling events and syncing your reminders across your Windows 10 devices

· Get more done with a superfast LTE 4G internet connectivity combined with a powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon Quad core processor and 1GB RAM that keeps you up to speed

· Power through the day with up to 14 hours of talk time and 28 days of standby time, thanks to a long-lasting 2100 mAh battery