The country’s two largest telecom companies remain optimistic about 2025 as they continue to expand their networks nationwide.
PLDT Inc. is investing between P75 billion and P78 billion next year, while rival Globe Telecom allotted about P58 billion to P59 billion in capital expenditure (capex).
PLDT’s investment in network capacity is expected to drive revenue growth and support the continuing rise in network traffic. The company’s fiber footprint remains unparalleled and the most extensive in the Philippines. Homes passed reached 18.3 million in 72 percent of the country’s towns and 91 percent of total provinces.
Smart’s combined 5G/4G network covers around 97 percent of the population.
“As we seek growth in a rapidly evolving digital landscape, we must take on an insurgent’s attitude, not simply embrace change but lead it,” said PLDT chairman and chief executive Manuel Pangilinan.
“We must challenge the wisdom that we have acquired over the years, to consistently rise to meet and exceed the constantly growing demands and expectations of our customers, in order to stay on track toward achieving escape velocity,” said Pangilinan.
PLDT reported a net income of P28.1 billion in the first nine months of 2024, up 1 percent year-on-year. Telco core income reached P26.6 billion, up by 2 percent from the same period last year.
The company’s gross service revenues grew 4 percent to P155 billion, while consolidated service revenues rose 2 percent to P144.9 billion in the first nine months of 2024.
PLDT’s individual wireless segment posted revenues of P62.1 billion in the first nine months of the year, higher by 2 percent year-on-year. PLDT Home posted fiber-only service revenues of P41.7 billion in the first nine months, while PLDT Enterprise reported P36.1 billion in net service revenues.
Globe president and chief executive Ernest Cu said his company is committed to empowering Filipinos across all economic segments with the country’s digital economy poised for expansive growth.
“Our focus remains on unlocking value as a hyper-focused digital company, winning customers through network improvement and digital innovations while strengthening our core telco business,” Cu said.
By the end of September 2024, Globe had built 684 new cell sites and upgraded 2,723 existing mobile sites to LTE technology.
It deployed 55,076 fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) lines to strengthen its fiber infrastructure. The rollout was strategically planned to maximize the utilization of existing fiber inventory, given the reduction in cash capex.
Over the first nine months of the year, Globe extended its 5G outdoor coverage by deploying 378 new 5G sites in different parts of the Philippines. In the National Capital Region, the 5G coverage now reached 98.51 percent and 94.91 percent in key cities in Visayas and Mindanao regions, respectively.
This expansion resulted in about 106 towns now enjoying a robust 5G presence.
Globe reported a net income of P20.6 billion in the first nine months of the year, up 6 percent from P19.4 billion in the same period last year. Excluding the impact of non-recurring charges, foreign exchange, and mark-to-market charges, Globe’s core net income expanded by a solid 19 percent year-on-year, reaching P17.6 billion in the first nine months of 2024.
The company achieved consolidated gross service revenues of P124 billion and P41.8 billion, up by 2 percent year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter, respectively.
