PLDT expects P70B mobile data revenues this year

PLDT Inc. is estimating that mobile data revenues will at least reach P70 billion this year, close to the post-pandemic high seen last year, on the back of increasing demand due to heightened digitalization.

Roderick Santiago, PLDT and wireless unit Smart Communications deputy network head, told the Inquirer that the optimism was being driven by growing data requirements from both enterprise and individual customers.

Meeting the revenue projection means nearly doubling its mobile data revenues in the first half amounting to P37.1 billion. Santiago expects the company to “replicate” its performance in the second half.

This will also sustain, amid a more competitive landscape, the mobile data revenues amounting to P71.1 billion generated last year. This was the highest seen since the pandemic erupted in 2020 and accelerated digital adoption.

The Pangilinan-led telco player, as of end-June, had active data users of 40.5 million. On average, they use 11.6 gigabytes (GB), an increase from 10.5 GB in the same period last year.

Mobile data traffic rose by 11 percent to 2,641 petabytes in the first semester.

Mobile data revenues accounted for 89 percent of the total individual wireless revenues, which grew by 4 percent to P41.9 billion in the first half.

According to Statista, the mobile data market in the Philippines is estimated to reach $2.9 billion this year, slightly better than $2.7 billion in 2023. Further, revenues in this segment are projected to eventually reach $3.7 billion by 2028.

Smart has 60.8 million subscribers as of latest reporting.

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Meanwhile, fiber revenues climbed by 7 percent to P27.6 billion in the first half. Subscribers in this segment stood at 3.2 million for the period.

PLDT has a fiber network spanning over 1.15 million kilometers (km), covering over 20,000 barangays across the country.

In 2022, PLDT activated the US-Transpacific Jupiter cable system, a 14,000-km submarine cable network that links Daet, Camarines Norte and Japan. It is also set to complete by next year the 12,000-km Apricot cable system, which provides connections to Japan, Singapore, Indonesia, Taiwan and Guam.

The company is set to spend P75 billion to P78 billion this year for capital outlays for cell site upgrades, deployment of home broadband ports, and data center and submarine cable investments.