TELECOMMUNICATIONS giant PLDT Inc. has inked a partnership agreement with the Provincial Bus Operators Association of the Philippines (PBOAP) to equip roughly 2,300 public-transport buses with digital solutions.
Juan Victor I. Hernandez, who heads the enterprise business of the company, said his firm’s agreement with the bus operator group involves the supply of Wi-fi connectivity, CCTV monitoring and vehicle tracking called Smart Bus.
He said these solutions could help increase productivity and comfort to the commuting public.
This comes after a few bus companies availed themselves of the service earlier this year.
“Giving the commuting public easy and fast access to the Internet through our Smart Biz LTE can help take their mind away from this daily grind, and enable them to be more productive by doing more tasks while in transit,” he said last Sunday.
Hernandez said the Smart Bus suite aids bus operators to comply with the government’s plans to modernize the country’s public bus transport system, which includes requiring bus operators to install a GPS monitoring device in their buses for commuter safety.
The package for the 2,300 buses comes with an industrial-grade modem router able to resist heat and vibration, and that auto reboots to refresh its connection. It can accommodate up to 25 users simultaneously and has a “bandwidth shaper” feature that allows more users to connect, delivering speeds comparative to LTE connection.
“Our initial rollout has been a huge success, and we are partnering with more bus operators within the year to equip their bus units with high-speed connectivity. By the end of the year, over 2,300 buses nationwide will be fitted with the SmartBus solution benefiting millions of our commuting public,” said Mitch Locsin, who heads the small and medium enterprise arm of PLDT.