PLDT home broadband unit reports 10% growth in subscriber base

PLDT Inc. said its home broadband unit saw record growth in subscribers during the first quarter of 2017.

PLDT said its unit, PLDT HOME, registered a 10-percent year-on-year growth in its subscriber base during the quarter, as it added 340,000 customers. It said revenues from both voice and data increased by 6 percent and 16 percent, respectively, during the period.

PLDT chair and CEO Manuel V. Pangilinan said the highest growth was seen in PLDT HOME’s data services, as customers clamored for more internet-related services.

As of the end of March 2017, PLDT’s fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) service has passed three million homes, on track to reach 4.4 million homes by the end of the year.

“We envision to transform Filipino homes into Smart Homes by next year as we blanket the whole country with our fiber-fast connectivity and best-in-class digital services in entertainment, gaming, security, and learning at home,” PLDT chief revenue officer Ernesto R. Alberto said in a statement yesterday.
Aside from FTTH, PLDT has also started to deploy hybrid fiber technologies such as Huawei Technologies’ G.fast. PLDT said this could boost data speeds up to 600 to 700 megabits per second over existing copper lines.

The PLDT group has invested more than P300 billion or $6 billion over the last 10 years in building its integrated fixed and wireless network.