Newmobile revenue stream

The local mobile industry is back in focus, industry-wide revenues are going up and telcos are finding better ways to monetize internet applications, increasing choices for consumers—and their own profitability.

Last week saw PLDT Inc.’s Smart Communications relaunch its postpaid business with more data-heavy allocations at price points discovered after a study of the habits of subscribers using big data.

But the focus for now will fall on Globe’s formal launch of 5G, the next-generation mobile standard, this week. PLDT said it was launching 5G in the fourth quarter of 2019.

Globe’s 5G service will initially focus on households, whose best options today are fixed fiber connections or 4G wireless solutions.

The so-called 5G rollout for mobile handsets isn’t happening anytime soon—affordable 5G phones have yet to hit the market, after all. That will come later and likely at a great cost in terms of telco capital investments, unless they can agree to share infrastructure as envisioned under the government’s common tower program.

Still, 5G for households can provide an early new revenue stream. Globe, earlier this month, said its first 5G at Home customer in Pasig City saw internet speeds of close to 100 megabits per second, which is comparable to Globe or PLDT’s high-end fiber plans.

Of course, wireless networks are shared and the speed will ultimately depend on the number of users and the infrastructure that’s in place. As for the price of 5G, we’re hearing the company is looking at around the P2,000 a month level as the sweet spot.