Gigabit-speed plans to be offered by PLDT

PLDT Inc. is set to roll out a next-generation fiber service next month that it claims will offer broadband speeds of up to 10 gigabits per second (Gbps).

“We are elevating the conversation on Internet access, shifting the focus to gigabits per second from megabits,” said PLDT Senior Vice President Jeremiah de la Cruz, concurrent head of customer business and PLDT Home.

“We want to make Gbps the standard for connectivity speed across every Filipino home,” he added.

Ten Gbps is equal to 10,000 Mbps, which is at least 10 times the fastest Internet access now offered by PLDT Home’s competitors.

At that level of connectivity, downloading a 20-GB, 4K video file will only take seconds to complete, not minutes. It will also allow multiple users on several devices to run applications requiring high bandwidth simultaneously without delay.

“What we are doing is the equivalent of the transition to 5G from 4G in mobile communication,” de la Cruz said.

“We are pushing the boundary in Internet access in the Philippines, giving the Filipino consumer a taste of first-world connectivity.”

De la Cruz said the country’s biggest telco was continuing to invest heavily on new technology and network upgrades to reach more Filipinos and equip them with world-class connectivity.

PLDT’s gigabit plans will offer speeds of 1 Gbps, 2.5 Gbps, 5 Gbps and 10 Gbps. The plans will be bundled with premium video services, top-of-the-line devices, and total Internet security provided by Kaspersky for two years.

The plans will initially be available to a select customer segment, but should soon be within the reach of a wider market given the growing demand for faster Internet access and large bandwidth for everyday tasks and entertainment.

An analysis by global solutions provider OpenVault last year showed that extremely high data consumers — a subset referred to as extreme power users — grew by 60 percent year-over-year through the third quarter of 2023.

Extreme power users were said to consume at least 5 terabytes of data every month — more than twice the 2 TB monthly consumption of super power users, with a large portion of usage dedicated for streaming.

The average consumer, OpenVault said, uses 550.2 GB per month, up 11 percent from the same period a year earlier.