PLDT to heighten deployment of fiber Internet services

PLDT Inc. is eyeing to step up the deployment of its fiber Internet services amid improving fixed broadband Internet speed in the country. (Photo: PLDT Home/Facebook)

MANILA — PLDT Inc. is eyeing to step up the deployment of its fiber Internet services amid improving fixed broadband Internet speed in the country.

The telco expects to reach more homes and businesses nationwide as it expands broadband coverage by about 30 percent to 5.1 million homes by implementing its ongoing network upgrade and modernization program.

PLDT will double its fiber and hybrid fiber broadband capacity from 1.1 million ports as of end 2017 to more than 2.2 million ports in the next two years.

As of end-2017, the coverage of PLDT’s industry-leading Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) network had reached 4 million homes. Aside from deploying more FTTH facilities, PLDT is also upgrading its copper-based broadband service to the much faster hybrid fiber connections.

Some 1.9 million copper-based PLDT DSL subscribers would be able to enjoy Fibr fast Internet by 2019.

In its latest Speedtest Global Index report, Ookla, a leading global Internet testing and analysis firm, said the country’s download speeds increased 50 percent from 10.16 Mbps in January 2017 to 15.67 Mbps in the same period this year, while upload speeds jumped from 7.28 Mbps to 13.53 Mbps.

“These results reflect the growing impact of our ongoing efforts to provide fiber-powered broadband services to more customers in more areas of the country,” Oscar Reyes Jr., PLDT Senior Vice President and head of Consumer Business Market Development, said in a statement.

Reyes said the country’s improvement on its fixed broadband services is caused by the ability of the telco to respond to the increasing demand for digital services from Filipinos who increasingly rely on the internet for information, entertainment, security and communication.

“The Internet is a basic necessity for most Filipino families. The robust growth of our subscriber base reflects Filipinos’ voracious appetite for more than just high-speed connections. Filipinos want digital services and content that add value and complement their diverse lifestyles,” he said.

In the first half of 2017, PLDT’s home broadband subscriber base increased 10 percent to 3.88 million users, while revenues went up 12 percent from PHP15.8 billion during the same period.

Revenue growth from its Home Segment was driven by data services, which grew 15 percent to PHP9.7 billion in the first semester of the previous year.

The PLDT Group has invested more than PHP300 billion or approximately USD6 billion over the past 10 years in building its integrated fixed and wireless network, which includes the country’s most extensive fiber transmission and distribution infrastructure, which now has more than 170,000 km. of fiber optic cables that support the growing data traffic of its fixed line and mobile networks.