PLDT confident of maintaining dominance in home broadband

Telecommunications giant PLDT Inc. said it is fully equipped to maintain its leadership in the home broadband segment in the short term amid increasing competition.

PLDT senior vice president and head of consumer home business Menardo Jimenez said the company is the only telco in the Philippines which has a “double barrel gun to attack the home market” at present.

“On the competitive landscape, maybe for 2021 and a part of 2022, everybody has to understand that PLDT is the only telco in the Philippines with two weapons for the home,” Jimenez said.

Jimenez said unlike other providers, PLDT has two strong weapons, which are both fiber and fixed wireless.

He said Globe Telecom Inc. at this point is only strong in fixed wireless, but is still trying to catch up when it comes to fiber.

Converge ICT Solutions, on the other hand, is only strong in fiber and does not have fixed wireless, according to Jimenez.

“We’re the only telco with weapons to attack the whole market. We will exploit that advantage and it should put us in good stand for at least a year or two,” he said.

The home segment led PLDT’s three customer segments in terms of revenue growth in the first quarter. PLDT Home grew by 19 percent during the period with P10.9 billion in service revenues.

Based on the Ookla Speedtest Intelligence data in the first quarter, PLDT recorded the fastest average fixed download and upload speeds in 16 out of 17 key regions in the Philippines.

PLDT’s fiber infrastructure is the most extensive in the country, with over 478,000 kilometers as of the end-March.

The reach of its fixed broadband service covers 10.2 million homes passed while the total number of fiber-powered ports is at 4.4 million.