Smart’s digital business yields P15.6 B revenues

MANILA, Philippines - The wireless arm of Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. has seen gains from its digital strategy as revenues from the mobile data and broadband businesses hit an all-time-high in the January to September period.

In a statement, Smart Communications Inc. said combined mobile Internet and broadband revenues reached P15.6 billion as of end-September.

The record was achieved amid an upsurge in mobile data usage as the amount of data traffic being exchanged within Smart’s mobile network grew by 139 percent.

Ariel Fermin, executive vice president and head of consumer business at Smart, said the breakthrough data performance was due to the partnerships the company forged with leading global digital technology companies. 

The partnerships were forged to provide new digital offers subscribers can access through their mobile devices. 

Among the partnerships entered into were with iflix, FOX, MCA Music, and Sony Music to provide entertainment to subscribers. 

Smart also has tie-ups with ride-sharing service provider Uber and online accommodation booking platform Airbnb.

Fermin said the company’s digital strategy is expected to continue to drive growth in data traffic.

“We’re now seeing the effects of a revitalized digital strategy for mobile which focuses on providing a superior ’Smart Life’ proposition to subscribers. Our partnerships that bring them the best offers from the world’s leading digital companies will continue to drive data growth as more users access the Internet on their smartphone devices,” he said. 

He said the company is looking to forge more partnerships to provide new offerings to subscribers and see continued growth in the businesses.

“We aim to sustain this growth in our mobile data and broadband businesses with more compelling offers and stronger digital partnerships well into next year,” he added.