MAKATI CITY, Philippines -- A top executive of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) said the company was watching developments in WiMAX, an emerging alternative to faster mobile networks.

WiMAX stands for Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access. It is a telecommunications technology that is designed to provide wireless broadband services over long distances. It can provide the proverbial "last mile" broadband access to subscribers.

But the company was not yet keen on pouring money on this emerging wireless technology this year.

“We are watching the technology very closely because in the GSM Long Term Evolution (LTE) protocol for technology evolution, WiMAX is not in line with that. But it is still a technology that we are looking at very closely because it can be part of it in the future. It depends on how it develops, and how much money is going to be poured by the WiMAX vendors,” PLDT President and CEO Napoleon Nazareno said when asked about PLDT's plans for WiMAX in 2008.

LTE is already dubbed the fourth-generation mobile network, which supports wireless broadband Internet service, voice, video and other services. LTE is the next generation after 3G, which is based on the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS).

The PLDT executive disclosed during a briefing on its financial report for 2007 that the company was focusing on its existing mobile networks, in particular the expansion of its third-generation mobile network (3G).

Nazareno said PLDT intends to pour money to "blanket" Metro Manila with 3G services. The company has invested around $60 to $70 million so far, the executive added. Nazareno said PLDT has already deployed over 1,200 cellular sites that are 3G-enabled. There are also over one million 3G Smart handsets in the local market, he added.