MANILA, Philippines, August 21, 2012 – The PLDT Group sustained the strong growth in its broadband and internet business with total revenues from these services up by 32% year-on-year to P11.6 billion in the first half of the year.

“We have clearly maintained our leadership position in broadband and internet as our subscriber base continued to grow, hitting more than 3.1 million as of end-June this year,” said PLDT and Smart President and CEO Napoleon Nazareno.

He pointed out that there are rich opportunities in broadband that are expected to grow even more as smartphones become more and more affordable to a broader segment of the population. “The large population of overseas Filipinos, high literacy rate, popularity of the social networks, and our relatively young domestic population underpin the robust demand for broadband connectivity.”

The wireless broadband revenues of the PLDT Group improved 42% to P5.98 billion in the first half compared to the year-ago level. Of this amount, Smart contributed P3.3 billion.

Smart Wireless Adviser Orlando B. Vea noted that mobile internet usage continued to be strong with the Group's mobile internet revenues nearly doubling (97% growth) to P1.4 billion. For Smart alone, the mobile internet revenues grew by 63% to P1.2 billion in the first half compared to the same period last year.

“Now that we have 'super-charged' our network, we are pleased that consumers have recognized our service and quality advantages as evidenced by the ongoing shift in subscriber preference,” Vea said.

“As with cellular, we are leveraging off our network superiority which allows for greater coverage, faster speeds, and more reliable connectivity,” he added.
PLDT DSL had the biggest contribution to broadband and internet revenues at P5.2 billion in the first six months of the year, growing by 13% year-on-year.

PLDT EVP and Head of Home Business Ariel Fermin said the recently-launched MyBro wireless broadband service alone generated almost P2 billion during the period, helping Home broadband revenues to grow by 27% year-on-year. PLDT Home broadband services refer to connections provided to the home such as DSL and MyBro.
Fermin added the Group's DSL subscriber base continued to grow to more than 877,000 at the end of June.

We have been offering a menu of services that provides upselling opportunities such as fiber-to-the-home, PLDT MyBro, Telpad, WiFi Zone, and bundles that optimize fixed and wireless service delivery,” he said.

Digitel, meanwhile, contributed P1.6 billion to the Group’s broadband and internet revenues in the first half, with 636, 000 DSL subscribers.