Philippine telecommunications company PLDT Home said that its revenue jumped 82% to PHP 33 billion (USD 630 million) driven by 1.13 million new fibre subscribers in 2021, despite COVID-19 lockdowns and natural disasters.
According to a press release from the integrated telco in the archipelagic country, exceeding the original target for 2021 of a million new fibre subscribers, PLDT’s total fixed broadband customers are now nearly three million, a record high for the group, as it continues to average over 107,000 monthly installations at the end of the year.
"The aggressive expansion allowed PLDT Home to pass more than half of the country’s estimated 25 million households as well as connect additional 1.13 million new Fibre subscribers—10% more than goal," the release said.
PLDT Home’s service revenues from its Fibre business surged 91% year-on-year to PHP9.8 Billion in the fourth quarter despite the impact of Super Typhoon Odette. This drove full-year revenues of the Fibre business to grow 82% year-on-year, the company explained. Total Home service revenues for 2021 were at an all-time high of PHP47.8 Billion, up 24% from 2020.
“The pandemic has shown us how a strong and reliable home internet connection is essential to our everyday lives, it allows us to continue to work, study and connect with our loved ones while keeping us safe at home, and that is what is most important to us, helping make the lives of Filipino families better,” said Jeremiah de la Cruz, Senior Advisor of PLDT Home Business.
“The momentum we have generated last year underpins our expectations for even stronger results in 2022, especially as we complete our copper service migration by end 2022 and as customers continue to demand faster and more reliable Internet connectivity,” said Jeremiah, whose professional experience includes working in telecommunications companies in Australia and Indonesia.
At the end of 2021, PLDT Home’s total fibre capacity stood at 5.77 million ports, expanding fixed broadband service to nearly 60% of all the 1,634 cities and towns nationwide. A total of 1.7 million additional fibre ports were installed in 2021.
The fixed broadband business of PLDT extended its fibre footprint to 13.9 million homes passed last year, exceeding its target of 13 million homes passed.
PLDT Home closed 2021 with 3 million subscribers, up 87% from the 2020 level. Net additions on fibre installations reached an average of 107,000 a month and 35,000 monthly average migration per quarter, reaching 326,000 net fibre adds in the fourth quarter of 2021.
