by admin | Sep 8, 2016 | Tech Talk
Starting immediately, postpaid and prepaid mobile customers of Globe Telecom may use 8080, instead of 8888, in sending promo registrations through text or SMS. The changeover follows the company’s compliance with a government request to use 8888 as the government’s complaint hotline, which became operational last August 1 as well. The substitution is also in support of nation-building.
As a transitory procedure, customers sending promo registrations to 8888 will receive response from 8080 effective immediately until November 30, when 8888 will no longer be available for Globe transactions. This means that promo registrations sent to 8888 from November 30 onwards will no longer be processed.
“As a telecommunications provider, we recognize the importance of communication for the government to effectively address loopholes in government service for the benefit of the country as a whole, thus our decision to give way to the government’s request to use 8888 as its complaint hotline,” Globe General Counsel Atty. Froilan Castelo said.
Aside from texting 8080 for promo registrations, Globe customers may also use *143# to generate a USSD code and register to a call, text or surfing promo of their choice.
In addition to giving way for the government’s request to utilize 8888 as a government complaint hotline, Globe is also providing access to both 911, the government’s emergency hotline and 8888 beginning last August 1. Globe is also providing inbound and outbound SMS accessibility for 2286 (Bato), a SMS hotline for the public to directly report incidents to the Philippine National Police.
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For more information, please contact:
Yoly C. Crisanto
Head, Corporate Communications
Globe Telecom, Inc.
Email Address: gtcorpcomm@globe.com.ph
Globe Press Room: www.globe.com.ph/press-room
Twitter: @talk2GLOBE │ Facebook: www.facebook.com/globeph
This e-mail message (including attachments, if any) is intended for the use of the individual or the entity to whom it is addressed and may contain information that is privileged, proprietary, confidential and exempt from disclosure. If you are not the intended recipient, you are notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please notify the sender and delete this E-mail message immediately.
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by admin | Sep 3, 2016 | Local News / Bohol Balita, Tech Talk
By: Jerome Auza
I was fortunate to be in a meeting on August 27, 2016 with Bohol Gov. Edgar M. Chatto, representatives of the Bohol Chamber of Commerce, Bohol ICT Council and some private consultants where we discussed the need to have a system to communicate on our mobile phones even when Internet connection is not available. We discussed the concept of getting the Boholanos ready for such situations because being able to send messages during emergencies or disaster situations is very important.
The loss of cellular service can happen during a typhoon and other disasters when the communication towers get disabled by loss of power or damage. This happened a few years ago in Bohol during the 2013 earthquake when cell sites did not operate for several hours. In the areas hit by typhoon Yolanda in the same year, mobile service providers were completely down for several weeks.
Fortunately the technology to do this is already available in a mobile app called Firechat which uses a system called MeshKit developed by Open Garden. Firechat is a messaging app which can use peer-to-peer connections to send messages. When there are several Firechat users, the app creates a peer-to-peer mesh network which is used to deliver messages to the users. The more users using Firechat, the better the mesh network becomes in terms of capacity and speed of transmission.
Firechat behaves just like any other messaging app but it can use WiFi and Bluetooth to deliver the message through other mobile phones when cellular service is down. Messages are encrypted and received only by the intended recipient. Broadcast messages are also possible.
To be effectively used during disaster situations, the community must already be familiar with the app. If possible, the people should use it on a daily basis so that they are proficient and ready to use it when cellular service bogs down. The plan is to have advisories on extreme weather, power failures, emergencies and other important announcements through Firechat.
Firechat was effectively used during the MMDA organized earthquake drill in Manila in June 2016.
In the next several weeks, expect hear about Firechat parties where people are invited to an event where Firechat is downloaded to mobile phones and used. This will help encourage the user of Firechat. If we are successful in organizing this throughout the province, this app will certainly help get messages across the community when cellular service is down.
The best time to install the Firechat app is now when Internet service is available for downloading the app on your mobile devices. To be ready for disaster situations, we should also have a way to charge the phones so extra batteries and battery packs would be ideal. Solar chargers should also be available.
by admin | Sep 1, 2016 | Headlines, Tech Talk
Aspires to be in Adopters, Frontrunners
Despite the absence of public investments in enhancing broadband access and speed, the Philippines scored high among Starters category of the Global Connectivity Index (GCI), published by Huawei Technologies, which measures how 50 nations are progressing with digital transformation using information and communications technology. Starters are countries in the early stage of ICT infrastructure build-out.
The Philippines garnered a score of 33, the highest score given among countries classified as Starters, which are economies with an average GDP of US$3,000 and have GCI range of 20-34. The country advanced two notches from its previous score in 2015 at 31. According to GCI, countries classified as Starters focus on increasing ICT supply to give more people access to the digital world.
According to the GCI report, economies classified as Starters show the following characteristics: ICT investment is less than 2 percent of GDP; E-commerce is low at US$5,000 per capita per year; and about 40% of the population uses the Internet. “Starters are not fully benefiting from the digital economy and its potential to raise incomes and overall quality of life. Policy makers need to ensure ICT maturity enters the second stage, Internet Innovation, so e-commerce can create economic growth. Faster broadband expansion is necessary to increase supply scores so that most businesses and citizens have affordable broadband access,” the report said.
To enter the next category called Adopters, Starters should adopt several strategies that include increase in ICT investment as a percentage of GDP to accelerate nationwide broadband coverage; reduce tariffs and provide subsidies for smartphones to get more smart devices into homes; start planning for high-speed broadband with 4G and fiber-to-the-home rollout.
Globe has been at the forefront of providing the digital lifestyle for Filipinos. The company persistently called on the government to help develop broadband access by investing in internet infrastructure in rural and far-flung areas. Globe President & CEO Ernest Cu has emphasized that broadband development is particularly relevant in communities where even basic infrastructure services such as roads and bridges are lacking, pointing out that broadband access creates significant impact on the development of marginal areas as this allows the community to conduct business with people all over the world, get information on education, health and government services. According to Cu, mobile operators like Globe are unable to deploy infrastructure in rural areas due to business viability issues. He said the government should build infrastructure, such as submarine cables, and then rent these facilities out to telco operators instead.
He stressed the entire country would not be able to optimize the benefits of broadband connectivity unless the government is willing to invest in developing internet infrastructure in “missionary routes”. Globe itself launched early this year a nationwide infrastructure program that would enhance the country’s internet experience within homes and across businesses.
The company has already invested $2.2 billion since 2011 to build a modern network and IT infrastructure. For 2016, bulk of its $750 million capital expenditure will be devoted in expanding network capacities with the additional frequencies that it gained access to from the sellout of San Miguel’s telco assets. The company is also aggressively investing in the deployment of a nationwide fiber optic cable system.
In the GCI report, Adopters are rated higher. These are economies with average GDP of US$15,000 and with GCI score ranging between35-55. Countries in this group see the biggest GDP growth from GCI. Their focus is on increasing ICT demand to facilitate industry digitization and high-quality economic growth. Asian countries under the Adopters category include China and Malaysia both with a GCI score of 44 and Thailand with 37.
Meanwhile, Frontrunners are countries with average GDP of US$50,000 and GCI score ranging from 56-85. These nations are mainly developed economies and they continually boost user experience, and use big data analytics and IoT to develop a smarter, more efficient society. United States lead the Frontrunners with a GCI score of 74, followed by Singapore with a GCI score 72 and Sweden at 70.
To improve their GCI scores, all governments should lead by example in digital transformation for enterprises and citizens, and increase spending on ICT infrastructure to benefit the public. Also, countries need to introduce and train a skilled ICT workforce to unleash the full potential of a digital economy and should partner with more stakeholders to lay a solid digital foundation, encourage cross-domain cooperation, and collaborate with the private sector and financial institutions like the World Bank to create an ecosystem for digital transformation. “Starters need to worry about broadening access. Adopters need to raise the quality of that access, and Frontrunners need to increase the business value created by access,” the report said.
According to the GCI report, the global digital economy has emerged as an unstoppable giant that’s growing at 10% or more than triple the rate of overall global economic growth. The worldwide digital economy generated US$24 trillion in e-commerce in 2015 and accounted for 30 percent of all global transactions. Such transactions were on 2.5 billion smart devices spread among the world’s 7.4 billion people. (To view complete report, please see http://www.huawei.com/minisite/gci/en/index.html).
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For more information, please contact:
Yoly C. Crisanto
Head, Corporate Communications
Globe Telecom, Inc.
Email Address: gtcorpcomm@globe.com.ph
Globe Press Room: www.globe.com.ph/press-room
Twitter: @talk2GLOBE │ Facebook: www.facebook.com/globeph
This e-mail message (including attachments, if any) is intended for the use of the individual or the entity to whom it is addressed and may contain information that is privileged, proprietary, confidential and exempt from disclosure. If you are not the intended recipient, you are notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please notify the sender and delete this E-mail message immediately.
by admin | Sep 1, 2016 | Headlines, Tech Talk
Smartphone photography takes on a whole new level as Huawei introduces one of the most impressive camera phones to date – Huawei P9. Featuring Leica dual-lens cameras and Huawei’s ultra-clear 5.2-inch screen, it gives ultra-sharp image capture and vivid display. Powered by Globe myLifestyle postpaid plans, customers can get it for free on Plan 1499.
On Globe myLifestyle Plan 1499, the connected experience is made even better as it comes with 5 GB of data, plus unlimited calls and texts to Globe/TM. Customers can also enjoy FREE 1GB Spotify Premium or HOOQ for 3 months, choice of Navigation Pack, Explore Pack, or Fitness Pack for 1 month, 1 month Gadget Care, 1GB Globe Cloud, and free shipping as well.
Boasting of detailed engineering, the Huawei P9’s Leica lens has clever optical engineering with dual-lens cameras that feature two sensors: one for RGB, and one for monochrome. Combining these two technologies, the Huawei P9 lets you capture vibrant colors with unparalleled detail, as well as appealing black and white images.
Its camera quality is as powerful as a DSLR yet portable and packed with dual 12MP rear cameras and an 8MP front camera that produces images in stunning high-resolution. It is also equipped with creative shooting modes that inspire one to produce great photos with the use of IMAGEsmart 5.0 technology, Hybrid Focus, and Picture Quality algorithm. This allows users to shoot crisp, clear, and optimized photos in any condition. Various shooting modes are also available such as film, professional, time lapse, and wide aperture among others.
Rounding up its powerful features is its premium and elegant design from diamond-cut edges, rounded curves, and beautiful aluminum body—all coated in a stunning gold shade. Huawei P9 specs the latest Kirin 955 ultra-fast octa core processor, a massive 3GB RAM, long-lasting 3,000mAh battery, and a reliable triple antenna—all working like clockwork for a fast and seamless performance.
To know more about how you can create your own myLifestyle plan visit www.globe.com.ph/postpaid/mylifestyleplan.
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For more information, please contact:
Yoly C. Crisanto
Head, Corporate Communications
Globe Telecom, Inc.
Globe Press Room: www.globe.com.ph/press-room
Twitter: @talk2GLOBE │ Facebook: www.facebook.com/globeph
by admin | Aug 27, 2016 | Local News / Bohol Balita, Tech Talk
Bohol will soon enjoy a digital transformation as talks of “Digital Bohol” were initiated on August 27, 2016 at the Governor’s Mansion with Gov. Edgar M. Chatto, representatives of the Bohol Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Bohol ICT Council, tourism players and some advisers. During the meeting, the group discussed the high level steps that will be taken for the Digital Bohol project.
Among the components of the Digital Bohol project is a co-working space and shared facility for multimedia arts and a recording studio for developing audio and video content, connectivity for communications during disaster situations as well as for broadcasting announcements for government, business and academe, digital economy participation for MSMEs and more.
The first action is to organize the self forming and organizing communications network that can be used for broadcasting important information during non-disaster scenarios. The same network can be used during disaster situations when cell sites are disabled. The idea is to setup the channels and organize Boholanos to use it on a daily basis for broadcasting important information so that everybody is ready to use the system during disaster scenarios. Users only need to use their smart phones using WiFi and Bluetooth connections.
Another meeting was held with the technology enthusiasts and young entrepreneurs was held at Just Sizzling restaurant at 8PM on August 27. In this meeting the group talked about the possible contributions they can make as a group. It was agreed that the group form a small group of volunteers to lead the community building effort.
Technology enthusiasts and the young entrepreneurs are excited about their role as community builders in the Digital Bohol initiative.
by admin | Aug 27, 2016 | Headlines, Tech Talk
By: Jerome Auza
The laid back venue at a beach in Panglao, Bohol, the shorts and rubber sandals do not indicate a fast paced, information packed technology, design and startup conference. The province of Bohol hosted this year’s Geeks on a Beach on August 25-26, 2016 at the Bellevue Resort Pavillon.
On the 24th, there was a pre-event investors only roundtable discussion followed by the Techstars and Startup Weekend Appreciation Night sponsored by the U.S. Embassy and TechTalks.ph. Techstars had just concluded its APAC conference on the same venue.
The conference kicked off with Ms. Tina Amper, founder of Techtalks.ph, delivering the opening message. Mr. Mon Ibrahim, Innovation Consultant of the new Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) spoke about the how the government is working with the community to empower startups to innovate.
“Geeks on a Beach” (GOAB) is a unique international conference featuring the cutting-edge of the tech world in a laid-back atmosphere. With the theme “Empowering startups, leading change”, GOAB4 will once more highlight communities of startups or innovation-driven enterprises based on software or apps, which have seen remarkable growth in the Philippines in the last few years. GOAB has greatly contributed in empowering Philippine startups.
“We are looking at startups taking the lead in strategically leveraging opportunities offered by a bigger regional market of ten countries with some 617 million people and a combined GDP of US $2.1 trillion opened up by the Asean integration,” said Ibrahim.
GOAB is rganized by TechTalks.ph and the Department of Information and Communication Technology (DICT) and co-presented by PLDT SME Nation, Ideaspace, PLDT Innolab and SmartDevNet.
Some of the brightest minds in the industry from the USA, Singapore and other countries will be on hand at the 2016 GOAB. Invited to speak in the confab are Techstars Co-founder and Managing Partner David Brown, Startup Weekend Co-founder Marc Nager, Chris McCann of Greylock Partners, Crowdsourcing Week Founder and CEO Epi Ludvik Nekaj, 500 Startups Managing Partner/Investor Khailee Ng, 500 Startups Corporate Innovation Director Arnaud Bonzom, Zalora Philippines Managing Director Constantine Robertz, PLDT SME Nation Head of Community Partnerships Francis Oliva, Ideaspace.ph Managing Director Diane Eustaquio, TechTalks.ph Chief Content Officer Robert Cristobal, Citrix Principal UX Designer Philip McKay, and STAC Silicon Valley President Cristina Laskowski.
Tina Amper, founder of TechTalks.ph who has been instrumental in conceptualizing GOAB said those who are into digital technology, web design, and innovation should not miss this opportunity to learn about the latest developments in the industry and meet the key players in the tech startup world.
“The Philippines’ remarkable work-play environment complemented by the famous Filipino hospitality and a unique cultural mix of East and West makes it the natural cultural doorway to the ASEAN for geeks and investors alike,” said Amper.
The first day of the conference was concluded with a dinner and cultural show hosted by the Provincial Government of Bohol. Bohol Governor Edgar M. Chatto welcomed the guests and encouraged the participants to explore the province not only for its tourism assets but also for the business opportunities that would be compatible with Bohol’s ecotourism and agricultural industries. Chatto highlighted that the IT/BPO industry and other technology ventures would be ideal for Bohol.
Senator Paolo Benigno ‘Bam’ Aquino IV was the guest of honor and spoke about the legislation that he has been working on in the Senate to support startups. He also requested participation from the startup community in crafting the laws to help make these more effective and relevant.
The crowd was entertained by various performers including the Loboc Youth Ambassadors Band which got a standing ovation from the participants.
The highlight of the second day of the conference was the pitching competition where 7 finalists were given a few minutes to make their pitch to the judges. EngageSpark won and received a trophy, a microfund and various other prizes.
Silicon Valley’s 500 Startups is thinking of creating a new microfund for the Philippines, according to managing partner Khailee Ng. It’s not yet a commitment or a promise, he adds.
Internet.org by Facebook hosted the cocktails and party that ended the 4th Geeks on a Beach conference with a blast.
The panel discussing Roadmap for Digital Startups and StartupPH.org
Mon Ibrahim of the DICT in a huddle with Gov. Chatto, Ms. Tina Amper, Dave Overton of Sym.ph and Ashran Dato’ Ghazi, CEO of the Malaysian Global Innovation & Creativity Centre.
Gov. Chatto
Sen. Aquino
