PLDT Enterprise provides continuous connectivity solutions to seafarers

PLDT Enterprise provides continuous connectivity solutions to seafarers
Rizal Raoul Reyes -October 26, 2019 https://businessmirror.com.ph/2019/10/26/pldt-enterprise-provides-contin...

Peoplelink Inc., a service specialist of the Magsaysay Group of Cos., that provides connectivity solutions for the shipping and manning industry, recently engaged PLDT Enterprise to ensure the country’s seafarers would enjoy continuous connectivity whether with their manning agency or their loved ones back home.

“We really wanted to address [the] communications problem of our seafarers. When they go out at sea for prolonged periods of time, sometimes they don’t have signal. And when that happens, their SIM cards that have ran out of load will expire,” said Norman Carcellar, president of Peoplelink Inc., in a press statement.

Carcellar said Peoplelink approached PLDT Enterprise, the business-to-business arm of the country’s leading information and communications technology and digital services provider, to address a major concern of Filipino seamen, who account for about 30 percent of the global maritime force. In turn, the latter provided its Smart Bizload platform, a Web-based credit portal that enables companies to efficiently load and manage budgeted mobile credits for their employees.

“Our partnership with Peoplelink actually began almost a decade ago, when we provided their seafarers with free SIM packets that granted them P200 worth of monthly e-load. Today, we are delighted to see how this partnership has grown with the provision of our Smart Bizload solution. Now that the loading of their credits is automated, both seafarers and management no longer have to worry about communication,” Vic Tria, first vice president of PLDT Alpha, said in a press statement. The tie-up has, in part, helped the Magsaysay Group bag several awards—including the Lloyd’s List Asia Innovation Award and the Asean Business Advisory Council Corporate Social Responsibility Award.

“We at PLDT Enterprise are always looking for ways to uplift the condition of our fellow countrymen, most especially our modern-day heroes—the OFWs, the seafarers, those who journey out to provide our country with the best service,” Senior Vice President and Head of PLDT and Smart Enterprise Business Groups Juan Victor Hernandez said.

“It is with great pride that we are able to fortify their work with solutions that best cater to their needs,” he added.

Carcellar pointed out that its partnership with PLDT has allowed it to reinvent its everyday operations, most especially in the advent of disruption and competition.

“This spirit of innovation in our company is what sets us apart…. We are able to dream and have this constant influx of ideas, and we are confident that PLDT-Smart will always be there to help us bring those ideas to reality,” he said.