“We have net citizens (netizens) in critical buildings and subdivisions who have already taken the broadband Internet connectivity concern with their bare hands: they are now spending their own money to bring NOW Fiber Broadband to themselves and their neighbors,” NOW Marketing head Kristian Pura adds.
The primary target of NOW Corporation’s broadband Internet offering is the lucrative enterprise sector that usually pays more to secure guaranteed broadband speed. With its broadband service, NOW Corporation can do just that for clients who seek anywhere from 10Mbps up to 700Mbps at guaranteed speeds, and, if need be, up to 1Gbps per tenant.
The challenge, of course, is in terms of rolling out the network, which can cost massive amounts of money and plenty of headaches especially when it comes to local government unit requirements. The solution presented by NOW Corporation, according to Pura, is to get partners to jointly own the infrastructure, specifically their building’s own backbone. In return, building partners profit through a revenue sharing scheme.
Pura said this is now possible with their “Fiber in the Air” broadband technology which is capable of providing 700Mbps in as far as 7-10kms. With the program’s scheme, NOW Corporation will get building partners who will lease the technology from them and provide the service to the tenants. In exchange, NOW Corporation shares 5 percent to 50 percent of revenues from incremental bandwidth with them.
Under the revenue-sharing scheme, the starting rate will be Php250,000 but this will increase depending on the size of the building or infrastructure. “Since this service operates on ‘line of sight,’ the taller the building is, the better it will be.”
Pura said the company has already tapped 12 building partners in Metro Manila and is looking at more growth areas, particularly in Southern Luzon, Cebu and Davao by next year.
But Pura hinted that those living in horizontal houses such as those in villages might have something to look forward to. He said NOW Corporation is talking to some homeowners’ associations who may still be wary about telco towers near their lush and manicured village gardens, but are apparently open to the idea of NOW Corporation’s technology right now.
NOW Corporation’s “Fiber in the Air” service uses wireless technology to cut the costs of building fast broadband service in major areas, a typically expensive and complex task that drains billions of pesos of other giant telecom companies.
True to its testament of providing reliable and ultra-fast broadband connection via its fiber in the air, more and more companies have signed up to be part of the NOW network. Part of its roster of clients include Capitol Medical Center, National Children’s Hospital, Bellagio Residences (a dormitory building), Bayleaf Hotel in Intramuros, Sta. Isabel College, and Chinese General Hospital and Colleges, to name a few.
For building owners who want to apply as NOW Corporation’s building partners, visit NOW Corporation’s website: 
Camp Aquino, Tarlac City—Asian Institute of Journalism and Communication Chairman and NOW Corp. CEO Mel V. Velarde has turned over the first official life-size replica of the famed 1734 Fr. Pedro Murillo-Velarde Map to Northern Luzon Command’s (Nolcom) Lt. Gen. Romeo Tanalgo.
The map’s official name is “Carta Hydrograpica y Chorograpica de las Filipinas.” One of its unique features, aside from its accuracy in the topography of the Philippine islands, is it shows the disputed Scarborough Shoal, also known as Bajo de Masinloc, as a part of the Philippine territory.
“Little did we know that almost 300 years later, those rocks that were drawn on this to specifically guide Spanish ships from sinking, will now be significant and crucial to the destiny of this nation,” Velarde emphasizes on the map’s role it played as an evidence to the Philippines’s claim on the islands at the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos). “From the utterances of the United States and G7 [Group-of-Seven] nations, and from the utterances of China, itself, it seems that the result would be, most likely, favorable to us.”
Velarde further explained the importance of giving a replica of the map to Nolcom: “The Northern Luzon Command is the protector, watcher, caretaker and defender of our northern territory, where Bajo de Masinloc is under its jurisdiction. This is our own way of helping you, helping the nation and to recognize the proud members of Nolcom—sometimes we sleep without really knowing who are the people always ready to die for us.”
“Why are we fighting for those rocks? Those rocks represent what this nation is all about,” Velarde passionately expressed his thoughts to the members of Nolcom, “that we, as one nation are indivisible, that our territory is sacred to us, that when our patriarchs were fighting for this country, they were not just fighting for one territory alone. They fought for a nation, which was still a seed in their minds that blossomed into a nation that is today called Filipinas.”
“If that rock falls in someone else’s hands permanently, then we would be in proximity to something
antithetical to our beliefs as a people,” Velarde explains further, “that our freedom is universal and we cannot accept the loss of freedom—something our forefathers so bloodily fought for, and we are still willing to fight for. Like with Tibet and Mongolia, getting closer to us is a hungry giant, which is why we need to defend our state of being. Unlike this giant neighbor, we Filipinos “believe in freedom and liberty, where the acts of governments must be subject to the consent of the governed—always!”
“Patriotism can take many forms,” Tanalgo said, “In the case of Mr. Velarde, the exhibited act of patriotism is unique and unmatched. Ensuring that the map landed on the hands of the Filipino people, he shelled out his personal wealth and simply bought it. He bought it for our country to rekindle the sense of patriotism among our people—to promote our sovereignty and support national interest in the West Philippine Sea.”
“I pray that this map serves as a point of existential value for all Filipinos, regardless of provincial descent, tribe, belief, religion and social stature. Sir, you spent wealth for this map,” Tanalgo told Velarde. “You pay our soldiers with your taxes, and we will repay you with our blood and commitment.”
Source: http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/1734-phl-map-turned-over-to-nolcom/