THE surge in mobile data traffic in the first three quarters of 2019, propelled the growth of the wireless business of digital services provider PLDT Inc., the company said in a statement on Wednesday.
Smart Communications Inc. President Alfredo S. Panlilio said the doubling of the mobile data traffic in the group’s network to 1.1 exabytes boosted mobile service revenues by a fifth to P52.6 billion, of which P34.5 billion was on mobile Internet revenues alone.
This, he said, aided in propelling the share of data and broadband to the parent company’s total service revenues, taking the lion’s share at 66 percent of the total revenue pie, or 6 points higher from 2018.
“Given the superiority of our LTE networks, our customers can pursue their digital passions and enjoy the best online video and mobile games experience,” he said.
The growth in data usage is driven largely by the huge consumption of Filipinos of online videos, social media and games.
“Smart has always provided more Filipinos with access to digital platforms—from video streaming and now connecting to top social-media apps. We understand that access to these platforms enables them to enrich and celebrate their passions, and we want to make this experience as worry-free as possible for our subscribers,” PLDT SVP Oscar Enrico A. Reyes Jr. said.
To support the growing demand for data, PLDT has been investing heavily in developing its network. It has ramped up the roll out of its 4G base stations in the country to 21,700 sites nationwide. The group has also laid out 307,000 kilometers of fiber-optic cables throughout the Philippines.