PLDT, the country’s leading telecommunications and digital services company and TNT, its largest mobile prepaid brand, recently partnered with the local government of General Santos City to help promote the 2017 Tuna Festival which had the theme, “A PEACEtival of fun — Bida sa Saya, Bida sa Tuna!”

Through the years, TNT has been a constant kaTropa of the Generals, celebrating the city’s culture, identity, and abundance of fish products every Tuna Festival. What made this year’s celebration more interesting was the availability of high-speed SmartWiFi service in the main festival areas, giving the residents and visitors the ability to post in real-time photos and videos on online platforms.

The FREE SmartWiFi access at the Oval Plaza allowed fans and other revelers to post photos and videos on their social networks during the “Talent Showcase of the Generals.” TNT’s celebrity guest Jason Dy serenaded the audience in the event and even took selfies with the crowd and selected fans.

The different tuna-themed contests at the General Santos City Fish Port Complex, which is a 15-kilometer drive from the city center, piqued the interest of many festival tourists because of the unprecedented number of social media posts and engagement.

There was a flood of digital contents, from the festival sideshows to main events, because everybody had equal access to a world class internet. This was possible because General Santos, the tuna capital of the Philippines, also happens to be PLDT’s 1st “Fibr City” in Mindanao.

With the support of the local government, PLDT had earlier laid down fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) facilities in GenSan. The infrastructure does not only serve the huge data requirement of the area but also the nearby provinces like South Cotabato, Sarangani and Sultan Kudarat.

The support of PLDT and TNT in this year’s Tuna Festival did more than to celebrate Gensan’s famous resource. By making available its technology and mobile communication services during the celebration, PLDT and TNT also empowered the communities to effectively promote the City, its economic viability and the culture of its people, not just in the Philippines but to the rest of the world.