PLDT Inc. will double its current domestic network capacity to 92 Terabits per second (Tbps) by the end of 2021 to cope with surging demand, the telco today ( Sept. 1) disclosed.

The capacity boost will enable customers - individuals, homes, and businesses, as well as future subscribers, to have faster connectivity and access to more bandwidth-heavy digital services, such as video streaming and work collaboration tools which became more prevalent since the pandemic.

“We are increasing capacity ahead of demand to enable Filipinos to thrive and secure a better future,” remarked PLDT Inc. and Smart Communications President and CEO Alfredo S. Panlilio.

Demand for digital services and data consumption has greatly increased PLDT’s network utilization, he explained.

On mobile data traffic alone, PLDT has seen an increase of 17% to 1,579 Petabytes in the first half of the year compared to the same period last year.

Monthly data usage in the second quarter averaged 267 Petabytes, an 11% increase from last year’s monthly average consumed data on mobile.

For PLDT Home, demand for data is evident as more work and school have been relegated to the home with the implementation of lockdowns and health measures.

The telco's Home business expects to hit 1 million new fiber subscriptions for this year alone, as it fast-tracks the roll out of its Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) service to cover more households in the country.

PLDT Home led the market in the second quarter with net adds for fiber subscriptions at 267,000, ahead by 54% versus the nearest competitor.

PLDT Enterprise, on the other hand, continues to support businesses’ increasing demand for data as many industries shift to the cloud and accelerate their digital transformation.

Data consumption growth is expected to be further boosted as PLDT Enterprise collaborates with government agencies to position the country as the next hyperscaler destination and a key data center hub in the region.

The mobile data consumption of customers of PLDT’s wireless unit, Smart Communications Inc., likewise increased significantly.

Smart 5G's data traffic more than doubled between the first and second quarters of 2021.

Already, PLDT has expanded its fiber footprint to over 524,000 kilometers as of June this year, and increased the number of homes passed to more than 11.3 million.

It expanded the number of available ports to 4.8 million ready to service more households and support their work-from-home and study-from-home arrangements

The domestic network capacity expansion complements the PLDT Group’s growing international capacity that helps direct data traffic in and out of the country.

Currently, PLDT has participation in 15 international cable systems that will also see an increase in network capacity once the Jupiter Cable system becomes operational early next year.