Leading telecoms and digital services provider PLDT has maintained its top position in the home broadband market, showing a robust 131% growth in its total fiber-fast broadband subscribers at the end of the fourth quarter of 2017 compared to the previous year, as it accelerated the deployment of fiber-powered Internet services for Filipino families nationwide.
PLDT SVP and Head of Consumer Business Market Development Oscar A. Reyes, Jr.
Total PLDT Home subscriptions grew by over 12% year-on-year as of end-2017 to reach more than 4.1 million, including Fibr, DSL, and voice customers. PLDT fiber facilities passed four million homes at the end of 2017, expanding by around 1.2 million from the previous year.
“The market response to PLDT’s aggressive deployment of fiber lines was quick and strong, adding nearly half a million new subscribers. The dramatic improvement in PLDT’s ability to deliver faster broadband speeds with the roll out of fiber and hybrid fiber, coupled with continuous innovations in digital solutions, access to content, and bundled offers, have boosted subscriptions,” PLDT SVP and Head of Consumer Business Market Development Oscar A. Reyes, Jr. said.
He added that PLDT’s fiber-powered SmartCity and SmartProvince programs enabled more Filipinos all over the country to enjoy the benefits of PLDT Home’s industry-leading products and services. Among these services are the SmartHome suite of cutting-edge devices such as the home monitoring system Fam Cam, the cyber security platform Fam Zone, and the multi-functional kiddie gadget Smart Watch.
PLDT’s SmartCity and SmartProvince programs were implemented with the cooperation of Local Government Units (LGUs). The first SmartCity was set up in Toledo City, Cebu in March 2017, followed by General Santos, Naga, South Metro Manila, East Metro Manila, and central business districts like Rockwell Makati and Bonifacio Global City. Cavite became the first SmartProvince in September last year.
Reyes noted that PLDT Home also introduced the world's leading entertainment platform Roku through its Roku-powered TVolution, an all-in-one box which houses content from top providers like Cignal, Netflix, iflix, and Youtube.
PLDT has likewise launched the Whole Home WiFi service which utilizes signal enhancing devices that connect the entire home to a strong all-in-one broadband and smart WiFi network.
In December 2017, PLDT Home ushered in a first in the market -- bundled offers that allowed customers to sign up for two to three services, such as either a PLDT Home Fibr plan, a Smart mobile phone subscription, and/or a Cignal TV subscription, with a 10% to 15% discount off their combined bill. PLDT is uniquely positioned to offer such bundled services.
While the SmartCities were the more visible areas of PLDT’s fiber expansion, FTTH and hybrid fiber connections were also brought to other areas of the country. Hybrid fiber technology is being rolled out to provide fiber-fast speeds to about 1.2 million PLDT residential customers on copper-powered broadband using VVDSL and G. fast which are used extensively in Germany and South Korea to deliver fiber-fast speeds of up to 500-600 Mbps over copper lines.
PLDT Chairman and CEO Manuel V. Pangilinan said, “PLDT will double its fiber and hybrid fiber broadband capacity to over 2.2 million ports in 2018. About 650,000 of the additional ports will be for fiber while another 550,000 will be for hybrid fiber broadband. This effort will not only expand the reach of PLDT’s fiber network, but it will also upgrade its copper-based broadband service to fiber speeds.”
He pointed out that by 2019, virtually all of PLDT’s 1.2 million copper-based DSL subscribers will enjoy fiber-fast Internet as PLDT further expands its fixed broadband coverage to 5.1 million homes passed, extending its reach to more areas of the country.
“The net result is that within the next 12-18 months, world-class internet services on PLDT’s super-charged fixed and mobile networks will be available to many more Filipinos in many more parts of the country,” Pangilinan said.
