PLDT keeps close eye on churn as it seeks ‘higher quality’ subscribers

PLDT, Inc. is working to improve its services across its platforms to raise revenues and attract “higher quality” subscribers, as it aims to regain leadership in the wireless business.

“We are paying a lot of attention to [our churn rate]. The churn is a deliberate action on our part to achieve a higher quality subscriber base,” PLDT Chairman, President and CEO Manuel V. Pangilinan told reporters on Thursday.

The PLDT Group’s average monthly churn rate, or the percentage at which customers stop subscribing to a service, stood at 7% for prepaid and 5.7% for postpaid for the nine months of 2016, compared to 6.9% and 3.6% respectively for 2015’s comparable period.

Citing GSMA Intelligence data, news reports earlier indicated rival Globe Telecom, Inc. has edged PLDT’s mobile business in market leadership in terms of the number of subscribers with 66.6 million at the end of 2016. It also showed PLDT had 62 million subscribers as of end- September.

Globe did not confirm the data, but it earlier reported its subscribers stood at 65.4 million as of end- September.

Sought for comment, Mr. Pangilinan declined to give PLDT’s subscriber figures for 2016, but admitted there was a “clean-up” process.

“[But] part of it is that in the process of looking at our own subscriber numbers, we have looked at the activity of subscribers on the network and we found quite a number of them are rather inactive,” he said.

“So there was a process of clean-up as well that happened in 2016… We have to reflect on what we regard to be the true subscriber numbers for the wireless group... The industry has changed. It has evolved to the point where our conviction is subscriber numbers does not occupy the preeminent position that it had in the past, when subscriber numbers were very important in driving revenue and profit. It seems not as important as before, in our view, in my view particularly.”

The PLDT chief had said 2017 “should look positive” for PLDT as it expects returns from its earlier investments and the fixedline business to propel its growth.

“What is important is to take a look at the total telco revenue now. Everything is converging. As a technical matter, of course, you have to look at fixed-line subscribers, your broadband subscribers. But at the end of the day, what is important is the activity on your network — of everything, broadband, fixed line, wireless and the revenue that activity generates to you,” Mr. Pangilinan explained.