PLDT 2022 nine months earnings virtual briefing on Thursday (Nov. 3)showed that
PLDT Home continues to connect homes with fiber, posting service revenues of ₱14.6 billion in
the third quarter.
PLDT executives at the briefing said they recorded a total of 489,000net new fiber
subscribers in the first nine months of the year. This brought PLDT Home’s fiber subscribers to 2.9 million.
Total fixed broadband subscribers as of end-September is at 3.24million, PLDT reported.
Alfredo S. Panlilio, the PLDT and Smart Communications President and CEO said the growth of PLDT Home is driven by PLDT’s move to reach deeper the unserved market, specifically referring to regional areas and lower market segments.
“This supports our view that there is still growth in what remains to be an underpenetrated market, albeit future revenues will likely come from regional areas where rollout is needed and from lower market segments. As we reach deeper into the market, we are exploring lower denomination plans to address affordability, Panlilio said.
PLDT Home obtained growth during the third quarter and first nine months despite the headwinds like Super Typhoon Odette that struck the country in 2021and tightening economic conditions impacting customers’ disposable income, also due to the pandemic.
Due to such headwinds, PLDT looked for ways to provide relief to customers such as its move to partner with Maya Bank and Maya where PLDT offered qualified financially distressed customers with a range o financial solutions and payment alternatives to help relieve the growing pressure on customer wallets.
Panlilio said responding to PLDT’s customer needs is driving revenues. However, due to present and future challenges, PLDT remains steadfast to implement policies to sustain the revenue growth, he said.
“Our goals are pretty bold, as we aim for big targets, even knowing it is not going to be easy,”
Panlilio added. “We are aware of the headwinds that we face, and certainly, this will not be the
last time we will encounter challenges,” he said. “What is key here is that while we continue to
drive revenues by responding to our customers’ needs, we are trying to put discipline in place by
focusing on strong efforts to control our operational expenses and improve operating
efficiencies.”
PLDT further confirmed that its efforts to modernize its network and connect more Filipinos nationwide to fiber, the country’s broadband speeds are now among the fastest in the region.
It said that based on the latest Speedtest Global Index report from internet analysis firm Ookla, the
Philippines ranks fifth in terms of median download speeds among Southeast Asian countries.