The Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (, ), commonly known as PLDT, is the largest telecommunications company in the Philippines.

History

---

PLDT was established on November 28, 1928, by an Act of the Philippine Legislature and approved by then-Governor-General Henry L. Stimson. Known as Act 3436, the bill granted PLDT a 50-year charter and the right to establish a Philippine telephone network linking major points nationwide. However, PLDT had to meet a 40-day deadline to start implementing the network, which would be implemented over a period of one to four years.

By the 1930s, PLDT had an expansive fixed-line network and for the first time linked the Philippines to the outside world via radiotelephone services connecting the Philippines to the United States and other parts of the world.

Telephone service in the Philippines was interrupted due to World War II. At the end of the war, the Philippines' communications infrastructure was in ruin. U.S. military authorities eventually handed over the remains of the communications infrastructure to PLDT in 1947, and with the help of massive U.S. aid to the Philippines during the 1940s and 1950s, PLDT recovered so quickly that its telephone subscribers outpaced that of pre-war levels by 1953.

On December 20, 1967, a group of Filipino entrepreneurs and businessmen led by Ramon Cojuangco took control of PLDT after buying its shares from the American telecommunications company GTE. The group took control of PLDT's management on January 1, 1968, with the election of Gregorio S. Licaros and Cojuangco as chairman and president of PLDT respectively. A few months later, PLDT's main office in Makati City (known today as the Ramon Cojuangco Building) was opened, and PLDT's expansion programs begin, hoping to bring reliable telephone services to the rural areas.

During the 1970s, PLDT was nationalized by the government of then-President Ferdinand Marcos and became the country's telephone monopoly. However, after he was overthrown, the company was re-privitized. By 1995, with the passage of the Telecommunications Act and the subsequent deregulation of the Philippine telecommunications industry, the company had been de-monopolized.

On November 28, 1998, Manuel V. Pangilinan became the president and chief executive officer of PLDT on the 70th anniversary of the company's founding.

Subsidiaries and affiliates

---

PLDT is divided into the following subsidiaries and affiliates, which are divided by the categories PLDT divides itself by.

The following are PLDT's subsidiaries and affiliates:

Fixed-Line:

• Clark Telecom
• Subic Telecom
• Smart-NTT Multimedia
• PLDT Global
  • PLDT US
  • PLDT US Retail
  • PLDT UK
  • PLDT HK
  • PLDT HK 1528
  • PLDT HK Ltd
  • PLDT SG
  • PLDT SG Retail Services
• Maranao Telephone

Wireless:

• Smart Communications
  • Smart Money Holdings Corporation
  • i-Contacts Corporation
• Telesat
• ACeS Philippines
• Mabuhay Satellite
• Pilipino Telephone

Information and Communications Technology:

• ePLDT
  • Infocom Technologies
  • mySecureSign
  • Vocativ Systems
  • Parlance Systems
  • iPlus Intelligent Network
  • Digital Paradise
  • Stradcom International Holdings
  • BayanTrade Dotcom

Ownership

---

• First Pacific: 31%
• Nippon Telegraph and Telephone: 15%
• Fidelity Investments: 5%
• Other owners (includes public stock): 49%

Competition

---

PLDT's main competitor is Globe Telecom in both the fixed-line and mobile markets. However, Sun Cellular, which is owned by Digitel, is PLDT's other main mobile competitor. Digitel is also a major fixed-line competitor.

See also

---

• Smart Communications

External links

---

• PLDT website
• Yahoo! - Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company Company Profile

Companies of the Philippines | Companies listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange | Telecommunications companies | Communications in the Philippines | Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange | PLDT | Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company