Communications

Benpres has interests in broadcasting, cable and telecommunications, making it the premier provider of converged communications services in the country. Content provided by ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation is carried to consumers through cable and telecom.

Communications

Broadcasting

ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation is the largest media broadcasting company in the Philippines, involved in the production, procurement and broadcast of programs and sale of commercial air time to advertisers. ABS-CBN is the undisputed leader in the regional areas with 19 TV stations, 3 AM radio and 14 FM radio stations scattered throughout the archipelago. The network's main broadcast center in Quezon City houses the country's strongest transmitter tower with a 120 kw reach that effectively covers the 5.2 million households in Mega Manila.

Benpres through Lopez Inc., controlled 57.38% of ABS-CBN as of December 31, 2001. ABS-CBN is the only broadcasting network listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange. ABS-CBN has diversified its interests by investing in media related businesses such as cinema theatre operations, audio recording and distribution, merchandising and licensing, video/audio post-production, and movie production. ABS-CBN has also sought to diversify by venturing into the areas of Filipino film distribution and cable television overseas. ABS-CBN's management believes that there is significant potential to use media as a platform for the sale of additional services.

Studio 23 is the UHF station of ABS-CBN. Catering to a young, upscale market, Studio 23 airs mostly canned foreign shows known for garnering high ratings among English-speaking audiences.

Communications

Cable

Sky Vision Corporation was incorporated on March 25, 1991 and started commercial operations on February 1, 1992. The economic interest of Benpres in Sky Vision stood at 23.07% as of December 31. 2001. Sky Vision owns and operates cable television service providers which offer the brands SKYCable and SunCable. The major cable companies under Sky Vision are Central CATV, Inc. for Metro Manila and Pilipino Cable Corp. for 22 provincial systems nationwide.

In 2001, the Benpres Group signed a Master Consolidation Agreement (MCA) with the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company or PLDT Group. Under the MCA, the economic interest of the PLDT Group in Home Cable and the Benpres Group's shares in Sky Vision will be consolidated into Beyond Cable Holdings, Inc.

The move is expected to spur the development of the cable TV industry in the country, rationalize infrastructure development, lower programming costs and provide a wider range of programming choices for viewers. It will also make possible the introduction of new cable TV technology that will enable customers to enjoy richer content and a growing array of convergent services.

Communications

Telecommunications

BAYANTEL

Bayan Telecommunications Holdings Corporation (BayanTel Holdings) owns Bayan Telecommunications, Inc. (BayanTel), the leading new telecommunications operator in the Philippines providing a full range of services which includes local exchange, domestic long distance, international long distance, data services and payphone services. Established in October 1993, BayanTel is the only telecommunications company that completed its local exchange roll out commitment a year and a half ahead of schedule.

BayanTel's franchise covers Quezon City, Malabon, Valenzuela, Manila, Southern Mindanao (Davao and General Santos), Northern Mindanao, Bicol and Eastern Visayas.

BayanTel Holdings is owned by the Lopez Group (66.53%), US-based Verizon (formerly Bell Atlantic) (19.36%), Asian Infrastructure Fund Group (7.87%) and other institutional investors (6.24%).

BayanTel also provides Internet services under SKYInternet, giving technologically superior Internet service at the most affordable prices in the Philippines. With the expansion of its bandwidth to 56 kbps, SKYInternet allows instantaneous log-ins and downloads up to two times faster than other dial-up ISPs. The company also offers prepaid Internet service with Blast prepaid webcard, giving up to 9 hours of Internet time for P100.00.

RCPI (Radio Communications of the Philippines, Inc.), a BayanTel company, specializes in national storefront telecommunication and value-added services. Five major service categories (outside the traditional telegram service this 42-year old company is known for) are currently available at RCPI. Aside from being Public Calling Offices, RCPI adds more value to its locations by offering money remittance, transport tickets (air and sea), payment collection and Internet browsing. With over 500 branches in key locations, RCPI is the Lopez Group's "brick and mortar" for the distribution of future Lopez e-services. It is a key component in the Group's formula to make e-commerce technology usable and accessible to as broad a market as possible.

As of December 31, 2001, Benpres held 47.32% BayanTel Holdings.