Traveling within speaking distance, if you have a line

Despite all the fuss going around about getting wired and

connected in this digital age, phone woes prevail especially

in less urbanized locales. Some believe it's a question of

geography. With all those mountains and wide seas in

between, certain areas just might never get the benefit of

working phones. However, the landscape is slowly

changing, thanks to a new facility called the Public Calling

Office (PCO) or Smart Tawag Center.

The initiative began in 1998, when Smart first set out to provide

telecommunication services to provincial municipalities through

wireless technologies. PCO's use both the cellular mobile

telephone system (CMT) and wireless loop (WLL) technologies,

which make line installation in farflung areas faster via radio

frequency waves that uplink with the nationwide digital system. It

is also much easier to install compared with landlines, which

require excavations for its copper and fiber optic implements. To

date, about 200 municipalities are served by PCO's that offer

domestic and international operator-assisted call services at

competitive rates. Mostly located in business establishments,

these are run by agents, typically shopkeepers and local

entrepreneurs who have discovered a market for such services in

their respective communities.

Recognized by many as the last environmental bastion in the

Philippines, the province of Palawan has joined the growing list of

provinces to benefit from world- class telecommunications facilities

with the launching of a Smart PCO or Tawag Center at Club

NoahIsabelle on Apulit Island. Situated in the middle of Taytay Bay

in Northeastern Palawan, the private resort is surrounded by cobalt

blue water with forests of coral and white sand beaches. Its

potential as an eco-tourism site was tapped by a group of

frontier-spirited divers previously involved in the first

Philippine-Japan Dive Jamboree of 1976. .

Speaking during the PCO's inaugural ceremony, Governor Salvador

Socrates noted the urgent communications and transportation

needs of the province. "Ecotourism sites like Palawan thrive on

community participation in preserving the environment. This can

only be made possible through infrastructure which will give the

residents easier access not just to the country but also to the rest

of the world."

Prior to the setting up of the PCO, staff and visitors of Club Noah

relied merely on radio communications and traveled by boat to

Taytay to make NDD and overseas calls. Among the celfone

providers, only Smart has a signal.

According to Dave Fernando, chief technology officer and

cofounder of Smart Communications, the Club Noah PCO is just

the first of several facilities to be installed in the nearby towns and

cities. "We believe this is a welcome complement to the tourism

industry," he said, adding that the same will also be helpful in

generating business for local residents. The facility also has IDD

and Internet capabilities.

Other vacation spots currently equipped with PCOs include the

Maya Maya Reef Club in Batangas and several resorts in Puerto

Galera and Boracay.

Next on the agenda is Camiguin. Fernando says it is part of a

nationwide effort to link the country's tourist destinations. "The

idea is to reach far into the countryside and give the public access

to phone services that are efficient, reliable and affordable."

The plan to provide integrated telecommunications services

throughout the country is currently underway. Through Smart

PCOs, the remote island of Tablas in the province of Romblon is

now linked to the rest of the Philippines.

Recently, the company also signed an agreement with Negros

Navigation to provide domestic travelers aboard its ships access to

wireless telecommunications facilities. Thirteen of Smart's PCOs

sail onboard 11 of Nenaco's vessels while 19 are installed at the

waiting areas of piers.

PCOs are also expected to be installed in over 100 Nenaco

ticketing offices nationwide.