21 December 2021
PLDT, the Philippines’ largest fully integrated telecommunications company leads digital inclusion among Asian telcos, according to the latest Digital Inclusion Benchmark conducted by the World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA).
The company ranked 12th out of 150, joining global blue-chip businesses like Apple, Cisco, Samsung and Alphabet in the Top 15.
While being the sixth telco following Telefonica, Orange, Telstra, Deutsche Telekom and Telia, PLDT is the top ranked telco from Asia (excluding China) and the highest-ranking company headquartered in a developing nation.
“We are proud to be ranked globally with the world’s biggest tech companies in promoting a more inclusive digital economy and society. We are encouraged to see that our efforts have been recognized and this recognition motivates us even more to pursue efforts to connect and empower Filipinos digitally,” said Melissa Vergel de Dios, Chief Sustainability Officer of PLDT.
The WBA noted PLDT ‘s initiatives on skills development where it ranked second among companies surveyed. The Infoteach Program, in partnership with the UP Open University (UPOU), provides nationwide digital literacy training for students. The Digital Farmers Program trains small-scale Filipino farmers on using technology to improve harvest and market crops. The Smart Wireless Engineering Education Program (SWEEP) is the country’s longest-running industry-academe linkage helping to produce industry-ready graduates or technopreneurs. The School-in-a-Bag is a portable digital classroom that brings education to children in far-flung communities. The said programs address narrowing of the digital divide and the inclusion of marginalised sectors.
PLDT also showed strong performance on the “use” category, placing 10th among companies evaluated. The WBA also recognised the company’s investments in its cybersecurity defences. The alliance further noted PLDT’s commitment to keeping a safer online space for its customers, particularly, children where the company has partnered with like-minded organisations to spread awareness on and curtail online abuse and exploitation of minors.
