PLDT Inc. is set on increasing its fiber-to-the-home (FTTH)'s unit PLDT Home's fiber broadband port and footprint expansion, as Home recorded a nine percent increase in fiber revenue growth last year to P53 billion due to the telco's further fiber service expansion.
According to a statement released by PLDT, the fiber business made up 88 percent of PLDT Home's total revenue of P60.4 billion, noting that fiber-only earnings were 81 percent of total revenues back in 2022.
FFTH average revenue per unit was P1,493, which was slightly higher than 2022 due to PLDT Home's initiatives to reach underserved and unserved markets.
It also saw 234,000 additional fiber subscribers in 2023, totaling 3.2 million in that year, strengthening fiber's significant share in the Home market.
In a statement by PLDT, it stated that the PLDT Group's planned P75 billion to P78 billion capital expenditure (capex) for 2024 will be used to increase home broadband ports, and invest in more submarine cable upgrades.
To expand the FFTH's footprint, Home will focus on greenfield barangays and deploy upgraded Passive Optical Network, XGS-PON, in order to offer Gigabit Fiber plans that can allow up to 10 gigabits per second.
“We are all excited at PLDT Home, confident we could do better this year, especially as we usher the era of hyper-fast Gigabit internet connectivity, introduce innovative products and services as well as vastly improve customers' experience by fortifying the fiber network and hastening resolution of customers complaints,” said PLDT Senior Vice President and Head of Consumer Business Home Jeremiah dela Cruz.
In 2023, PLDT Group's fiber footprint expanded to 1.1 million cable kilometers, serving 25 million Filipino households. 900,000 cable kilometers are domestic fiber, while 200,000 cable kilometers are international fiber.
By the end of last year, the PLDT network has covered 18,600 barangays or 44 percent of barangays nationwide.
“We will also leverage on the strength of PLDT’s fixed and wireless networks to deliver seamless connectivity, by introducing an industry-first ‘Always On’ service for customers to enjoy uninterrupted access for work, education, and entertainment even in cases of outages,” dela Cruz added.