PLDT fiber-to-home service seen reaching 4.4M users

PLDT Inc. is expecting a big increase in the number of customers using its fixed-line fiber network, described as the next telco battleground.

PLDT said it would reach 4.4 million homes by the end of 2017, up by almost 80 percent from 2.5 million homes it served in 2016.

The rollout involved its high-speed fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) service.

“We are stepping up our efforts to deliver unrivalled internet services to more homes in various parts of the country, from the Ilocos provinces in the North to Zamboanga in the South,” PLDT chair and CEO Manuel V. Pangilinan said in a statement.

The FTTH service will be delivered through PLDT Home Fiber, which can deliver internet speeds of up to 1 gigabit per second (Gbps).

Among the areas now covered by fiber-powered internet connections are Laoag, Baguio City, Vigan City, and Tuguegarao in Northern Luzon; Tarlac, Cabanatuan City, and San Fernando, Pampanga in Central Luzon; and, Puerto Princesa and El Nido in Palawan, down to the Bicol region cities of Sorsogon, Naga, and Legazpi.

Also fiber-ready are major urban areas in the Visayas region, with the most extensive footprint in the cities of Bacolod, Cebu, Iloilo, Tacloban, and Tagbilaran. In Mindanao, PLDT’s fiber has already reached key provinces and cities, including Cotabato, Davao, General Santos City, Koronadal, and Zamboanga. Miguel R. Camus