PLDT INC. said partnerships will change into increasingly vital within the telecommunications sector as operators expand beyond connectivity into artificial intelligence (AI), cloud services, cybersecurity, and digital platforms.
“Partnerships and strategic alliances will shape the longer term of telco because no single player can construct the whole lot alone anymore,” PLDT Post-Contract Management Head of Legal and Regulatory Group Edgardo B. Lina, Jr. said in a press release over the weekend.
“The industry is moving toward ecosystems — connectivity, AI, cloud, platforms, cybersecurity, and enterprise solutions all require collaboration,” he added.
PLDT said strategic partnerships could help drive growth within the telecommunications sector and support regional development amid industry challenges.
Mr. Lina said collaboration amongst industry players could also help facilitate policy reforms and enable firms to raised navigate a rapidly evolving technology landscape.
Meanwhile, the Pangilinan-led telecommunications company also said it is ready to take part in the federal government’s planned AI-native industrial hub in Latest Clark City.
“I believe PLDT needs to be a part of that and we would really like to do it. We could do it,” PLDT Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan told reporters on the sidelines of the corporate’s annual stockholders’ meeting last week.
The Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) earlier said the Philippines is targeting to interrupt ground on the AI-native industrial hub inside two years as a part of efforts to strengthen the country’s AI capabilities.
The BCDA has earmarked about 1,618 hectares in Latest Clark City for the project, which can host a Pax Silica Coordination Office where technology firms, research institutions and government agencies can work together to construct an AI ecosystem.
The initiative forms a part of the federal government’s broader push to draw investments into digital infrastructure and emerging technologies.
The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) has said it expects the implementation of the National Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure Master Plan to draw about $30 billion price of investments over the following seven years.
PLDT has been expanding its digital and enterprise offerings beyond traditional telecommunications services as demand grows for cloud computing, cybersecurity, data center and AI-related solutions.
Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of the PLDT Helpful Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., holds a majority stake in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Ashley Erika O. Jose