National Broadband Plan To Boost Fixed-Line Internet Service Penetration

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The country’s fixed-line broadband speed and penetration expected to further improve once the national broadband plan implemented.

National Telecommunications Commission Deputy Commissioner Edgardo Cabarios made this comment after Akamai, a leading content delivery network services provider for media and software delivery and cloud security solution, noted in its third quarter survey that the Philippines had registered marked improvements in terms of connectivity.

Based on Akamai’s Q3 report, the country’s average connection speed (IPv4) for mobile internet was now ranked first in the Asia Pacific region, registering an average speed of 13.9 Mbps up from 8.5 Mbps in the second quarter.

On the table presented in the study, the Philippines’ average mobile speed 13.9 Mbps came in the fastest in the Asia Pacific cluster, topping the speeds of Australia (12.8 Mbps), Japan (11.6 Mbps),South Korea (11.2 Mbps), Idonesia (10.9 Mbps), New Zealand (10.8 Mbps), Taiwan (9.4 Mbps), China (8.9 Mbps), Singapore (8.5 Mbps), Hongkong (6.1 Mbps), Thailand (6.1 Mbps), Sri Lanka (5.4 Mbps),India (3.5 Mbps), and Vietnam (3.4 Mbps).

The report also cited an improvement on the “above 10 Mbps broadband adoption” category, of which Philippines adoption rate is now at 5.4 percent, representing a growth rate for the country of 9.1 percent QoQ and 517 percent YoY.

The Philippines also showed an improvement in the “15 Mbps broadband adoption” category, of which the country is now at 2.4 percent adoption, or an improvement 11 percent QoQ 645 percent YoY.

According to Cabarios, the significant improvement in the mobile internet speed may be attributed to the recent activation by Globe and Smart of Long Term Evolution (LTE) cell sites, making use of the 700 MHz spectrum.

He added that once the Department of Information and Communication Technology (DICT) has finalized the national broadband plan, it will give a boost to fixed-line internet speed and improve coverage across the country.

Source (PNA)

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?&sid=6&pfn=951080&arch=1&go=Go&search_arch=Keyword&andor=and&mdte_arch=12&ddte_arch=27&ydte_arch=2016

Debut Of Bright Lights, New Documentary On Loving Relationship Of Carrie Fisher And Debbie Reynolds, Premieres Same Time As The U.S. This Sunday, January 8 At 9AM Exclusively On HBO

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In light of the recent and unexpected deaths of both Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds, the documentary BRIGHT LIGHTS: STARRING CARRIE FISHER AND DEBBIE REYNOLDS will debut same time as the U.S. on Sunday, January 8 at 9am, with a same day primetime encore at 9pm, exclusively on HBO.

The story of a family’s complicated love, this documentary is an intimate portrait of Hollywood royalty in all its eccentricity. Carrie Fisher and her mother, Debbie Reynolds, live in the same Beverly Hills compound. The 83-year-old grand dame still has a Las Vegas act, but performing is taking its toll. Carrie’s response is both hilarious and heart-rending. Featuring vintage family films that bring iconic old-world Hollywood to life, as well as extensive vérité footage, the film is directed by Alexis Bloom and Fisher Stevens.

BRIGHT LIGHTS: STARRING CARRIE FISHER AND DEBBIE REYNOLDS has already received audience and critical acclaim at many prestigious film festivals, including the 2016 Cannes Film Festival, the Telluride Film Festival and theNew York Film Festival.

Who’s Who in “The Lego Batman Movie”?

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With barely a month before The LEGO Batman Movie opens in cinemas, Warner Animation Group has released the official descriptions of the animated film’s cool characters. Get up close and personal with Batman, Bruce Wayne, Robin, Dick Grayson, Barbara Gordon, Batgirl, The Joker, Harley Quinn and Alfred Pennyworth in the following dossier.

BATMAN. A night-stalking, crime-fighting vigilante and heavy metal rapping machine. Super Hero. Master Builder. Batman is all this and much more. Equipped with a utility belt packed with Batarangs, grappling guns and other useful inventions, and backed by a Batcave full of cutting-edge vehicles and Batsuits for every occasion, Batman has sworn to forever defend Gotham City against all crooks and villains. Batman always works alone. He also has a really sweet music career going – thanks for asking.

Awesomeness: 11/10

Bat-Fact: Thinks his roommate, Bruce Wayne, is a super-cool guy.

BRUCE WAYNE. As the charming, handsome and wealthy CEO of Wayne Industries, voted Gotham’s Most Eligible Bachelor for, like, forever, Bruce Wayne is the envy of all who meet him. No one suspects that this seemingly carefree billionaire has a super-secret identity. If you guessed he was Superman, you’d be close…but wrong.

Camera-Friendly: 10/10

Bat-Fact: Has never been seen in the same place as Kite-Man. Hmmmm….could it be?

ROBIN. Batman has always battled alone against the forces of injustice and evil, but now he’s suddenly got a kid sidekick to deal with. Where Batman is silent, serious and brooding, Robin is loud, enthusiastic and constantly bursting with excitement about getting to work with his favorite Super Hero and new dad. Only time will tell if he proves himself to be a boy blunder or a true Boy Wonder! Good intentions. Questionable fashion sense.

Gymnastic Ability: 10/10

Bat-Fact: When not fighting crime, Robin practices groovy dance moves and the gymnastics-based martial art of gym-kata.

DICK GRAYSON. Sometimes a celebrity billionaire who’s trying to show off at a big gala event adopts a young orphan. It probably happens all the time, right? Well, Dick Grayson is that kid, and he can’t believe his good luck in getting a cool new dad like Bruce Wayne, with a huge empty mansion and his own personal butler. He can’t wait to find out all about his brand-new family, and to take his first family photo.

Energy: Off the charts.

Bat-Fact: Might have had some circus training.

BARBARA GORDON. Growing up as the daughter of Gotham City’s top cop has given Barbara Gordon a strong background in law and order. But as much as she respects her father’s experience and wisdom, this proud graduate of Harvard for Police believes the city would be better served by a more modern style of crime-fighting. Now that Jim Gordon is retiring, it’s time for a new Commissioner Gordon to clean up the streets, and she wants to work together with Batman to achieve this.

Respect for Vigilantes: 0/10

Bat-Fact: Wore her SWAT gear to prom.

BATGIRL. Although she’s new at being a Super Hero, Batgirl is every bit Batman’s equal as a crime-fighter. True, they disagree about methods – she believes it takes a village, and he insists on working alone – but her experience as a former police officer and her desire to protect Gotham City make her the perfect partner when things get tough and villains are on the rise. She might even have a few things to teach the Dark Knight about busting bad guys.

Discipline: 10/10

Bat-Fact: Has been known to take out the villains before Batman can park the Batmobile.

THE JOKER. The laughing lunatic. The Clown Prince of Crime. Batman’s greatest enemy. That’s how The Joker sees himself. With his white skin, green hair and constant grin, this unhinged leader of Gotham’s colorful criminal underworld has made it his life’s goal to cure the city of its all-so-serious gloom. He might break the law, but he really just wants to make people smile…and to rule the city…and to get Batman to finally admit that he is his greatest enemy. Is that too much for a Super-Villain to ask for?

Comedic Timing: 10/10

Bat-Fact: Number of times The Joker has succeeded in taking over Gotham City…zero.

HARLEY QUINN. Mirthful, mischievous and just a little bit malevolent, Harley Quinn is The Joker’s number one sidekick, henchperson and fan. She’s endlessly loyal to her beloved Puddin’, making her the only one in all of Gotham City that he can fully count on to help with his sinisterly silly schemes. And if Harley can cause enough of a distraction for Batman that The Joker can get away? That’s all the better!

Bad Romance: 10/10

Bat-Fact: Named MVP of her roller derby team.

ALFRED PENNYWORTH. Alfred has been the butler to the Wayne family for generations. Hard-working, long-suffering and utterly loyal, he sees it as his responsibility not just to keep Wayne Manor and the Batcave clean and tidy, but also to look after his employer’s well-being…even when Batman doesn’t necessarily agree. He has been in many ways a father figure to Batman, always encouraging him to be a better man. Cooks an amazing Lobster Thermidor.

Loyalty: 10/10

Bat-Fact: Worth a lot more than a penny.

In the irreverent spirit of fun that made The LEGO® Movie a worldwide phenomenon, the self-described leading man of that ensemble – LEGO Batman – stars in his own big-screen adventure. But there are big changes brewing in Gotham, and if he wants to save the city from The Joker’s hostile takeover, Batman may have to drop the lone vigilante thing, try to work with others and maybe, just maybe, learn to lighten up.

Will Arnett reprises his starring role from The LEGO Movie as the voice of LEGO Batman, aka Bruce Wayne. Zach Galifianakis (the Hangover films) stars as The Joker; Michael Cera (Superbad) as the orphan Dick Grayson; Rosario Dawson (TV’s Daredevil) as Barbara Gordon; and Ralph Fiennes (the Harry Potter films) as Alfred.

The LEGO® Batman Movie is directed by Chris McKay, and produced by Dan Lin, Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, and Roy Lee, who worked together on The LEGO Movie.

Opening across the Philippines on Thursday, February 9, The LEGO Batman Movie is distributed in the Philippines by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

Golden Globe Awards’ Frontrunner “La La Land” Starring Emma Stone And Ryan Gosling Opens January 11 In Cinemas

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The highly-anticipated romantic musical and Golden Globe Awards frontrunner “La La Land” starring Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling brings the audience to classic Hollywood on an exuberant song-and-dance journey through a life-changing love affair between a jazz pianist and a hopeful actress.

From the recently announced Golden Globe Awards nominees, “La La Land’s” nominations include Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, Ryan Gosling for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy), Emma Stone for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy), Damien Chazelle as Best Director for a Motion Picture, Best Screenplay, Best Original Score and Best Original Song.

Both an ode to the glamour and emotion of cinema classics, a love letter to the Los Angeles of unabated dreams, and a distinctly modern romance, “La La Land” reunites Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone, bringing them together with rising writer/director Damien Chazelle (the Oscar®-winning “Whiplash”). The film begins as everything begins in L.A.: on the freeway. This is where Sebastian (Gosling) meets Mia (Stone), with a disdainful honk in a traffic jam that mirrors all too well the gridlock they’re each navigating in their lives. Both are focused on the kind of near-impossible hopes that are the lifeblood of the city: Sebastian trying to get people to care about traditional jazz in the 21st Century, Mia aiming to nail just one uninterrupted audition. But neither expects that their fateful encounter will lead them to take leaps they never could do alone.

Wearing its influences on its sleeve yet taking considerable risks, La La Land allows filmmaker Chazelle to pay homage to legends of cinema while harnessing its current power to make the most private human terrain the territory of intimate relationships, personal dreams and the crossroads where decisions set fate into motion come to life on the screen as a palpably real, yet enchanted, universe.

As it turned out, Gosling had his own long-held affection for movie musicals that came into play the minute he came aboard.

Says Gosling: “I was really intrigued by the fact that Damien wanted to make a film in the style of that Fred and Ginger and Gene Kelly eras, because those are the musicals that move me. The fact that he wanted this film to have that kind of aesthetic and spirit of playfulness was fantastic because it was also a secret wish of mine to make a film like that.”

Early on in the process, Stone met with Chazelle, who took her through his ideas for some of the musical numbers.

“It was intoxicating,” Stone recalls. “The idea of telling this really modern story of two struggling artists — but in a 1950s-style musical version of today’s Los Angeles became something really exciting to me very quickly.”

Mia’s yearning for something beyond the ordinary also hit home with her. “Mia is driven by something that maybe she doesn’t completely understand,” says Stone. “She wants to be an artist in a city of so many people who seem to be just like her. She feels that there’s something special inside her but she doesn’t quite know what it is. I could relate to her being an actress and going on auditions but even more so, there was something so exciting about taking her into this musical world where you can suddenly spin down the street or burst into song. That was a wonderful challenge.”

“La La Land” will open on January 11 in local cinemas nationwide from Pioneer Films.

Pioneer Insurance announces #MoveOnLang Songwriting Competition finalists, Vote now for your fave song!

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After a rigorous selection process, ten talented student songwriters have been chosen as the finalists of Pioneer Insurance’s #MoveOnLang Songwriting Competition.

Play and listen to these beautiful songs and vote for your favorite #MoveOnLang song.

1. “Aking Mundo” by Benjamin Quijano of University of the Philippines Los Baños

2. “Alive” by Kenneth Roquid of University of the Philippines Diliman

3. “Chronosphere” by CK Sabillo of University of Santo Tomas

4. “From Now On” by Julien Cloma of STI College Novaliches

5. “Hand in Hand” by Julia Dichoso of Sorsogon State College 

6. “Invincible” by Yosef Escoto of San Beda College Alabang

7. “Make It Through” by Luigi Balazo of University of San Carlos 

8. “Martsa ni Martha” by Marie Maureen Salvaleon of Southwestern University PHINMA 

9. “The Biggest Leap” by Marie Bernadette Tayag of De La Salle University Manila

10. “Time” by Patricia Monsod of University of the Philippines Diliman 

Visit https://www.facebook.com/PioneerIsYourInsurance and www.moveonlang.ph to vote for your favorite entry. Voting will end on January 23, 2017 at 12 NN.

Pioneer Insurance launched the #MoveOnLang Songwriting Competition in partnership with the Filipino Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (FILSCAP) to encourage the youth to pursue artistic endeavors and to celebrate the Filipino trait of resiliency.

(From left) Pioneer Insurance Marketing FVP Len Pozon, Pioneer Retail Organization Head Lorenzo Chan, Jr., FILSCAP President Rico Blanco and FILSCAP Chairman Arturo Lui Pio at the launch of the #MoveOnLang Songwriting Competition last September 2016.

Applicants were challenged to write a song expressing their own unique take on Filipino resiliency. After screening hundreds of submissions from students all over the country, the board of judges, composed of practitioners from the music industry, selected entries to move on to the final round of judging.

The songs cover a wide range of genres from straightforward pop to alternative pop, acoustic, and even electronic ballads. 

“We’re happy to have received such a variety of song submissions. It just goes to show that the next generation of Filipino musicians have much to offer,” said Pioneer’s Marketing Head Len Pozon.

The public can listen and vote for their favorite songs at www.moveonlang.ph from January 4 to 23, 2017. The finalist with the most online votes will be crowned the Online Favorite and awarded a cash prize of PHP 10,000.

The top ten entries will also be interpreted by performers during the Finals Night on February 2, 2017, at Hard Rock Café in Glorietta 3, Makati City, with live coverage on Pioneer Insurance’s Facebook Page, www.facebook.com/PioneerIsYourInsurance. A panel of judges will then decide the top three winners of the competition.

The Grand Winner of Pioneer Insurance’s #MoveOnLang Songwriting Competition will bring home PHP 100,000, while the second and third placers will win PHP 50,000 and PHP 30,000 respectively. The remaining seven non-winning participants will receive a consolation prize of PHP 10,000. All finalists will be awarded PHP 100,000 worth of insurance coverage courtesy of Pioneer.

Rico Blanco, Yael Yuzon and Aristotle “Gloc 9” Pollisco give tips to aspiring songwriters at the San Beda College Alabang leg of the Pioneer and FILSCAP Campus Caravan.

A staunch supporter of the arts, Pioneer shares their message of hope through yearly competitions in various creative fields like filmmaking, playwriting, and this time, songwriting.

“This is a wonderful opportunity to promote local music through our partnership with FILSCAP, the sole and official music copyright society in the Philippines and One Music PH, ABS-CBN's online music portal,” said Pozon. “We hope that #MoveOnLang will inspire not only the youth, but our entire nation to keep moving forward despite setbacks and difficulties.”

To learn more about Pioneer Insurance’s #MoveOnLang Songwriting Competition, visit www.moveonlang.ph and www.facebook.com/PioneerIsYourInsurance.