MANILA, Philippines, JUNE 4, 2015 – Leading telecom and digital company PLDT is further expanding its presence in southern Philippines with the completion of its acquisition of a public telecommunications carrier (PTC), Metro Kidapawan Telephone Corp. (Metro Phone), to capture 75% market share of the fixed line business in Mindanao.
The acquisition was made through PLDT’s wholly-owned subsidiary PLDT-Philcom Inc., the biggest local exchange carrier (LEC) operating in Mindanao.
“With this acquisition, PLDT will be able to better serve a greater number of customers with its expanding multimedia and digital services that are powered by its unparalleled fiber optic network,” PLDT President and CEO Napoleon Nazareno said.
Metro Phone is currently serving not just subscribers in Kidapawan City but also in three other municipalities in the Province of North Cotabato.
“We are within the Soccksargen region which is considered a development corridor in Mindanao. And we are pleased to have the opportunity to support the region’s growth and other provinces in southern Mindanao through services that are backed by PLDT’s expansive network,” said PLDT-Philcom and Metro Phone President Jesus Tanedo said.
Soccksargen which is also known as Region XII stands for the region's four provinces and one of its cities: South Cotabato, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani and General Santos City.
“With its extensive fiber optic network, the PLDT Group remains unmatched in delivering high-quality voice, data, multimedia, and digital services to its customers. And we are delighted to bring that high quality service to our Metro Phone customers in Mindanao,” Tanedo said.
PLDT spent over P34.8 billion in capital expenditures in 2014 as it expanded its fiber network to nearly 100,000 kilometers, making it the most extensive, robust and resilient network in the country. Such network is needed for reliable broadband services that can simultaneously deliver voice, video, and data offerings at faster speeds and larger capacities through various devices from computers, tablets, and cellphones, to television sets. In anticipation of greater data usage, PLDT is planning to spend another P39 billion in capital expenditures in 2015.
