PLDT mobile internet revenues up 38% in Q1

MANILA, Philippines - Mobile internet revenues of the wireless subsidiary of Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) grew 38 percent in the first quarter from a year ago, in line with the group’s strategy to generate more revenues from data and digital product segments.

In a statement, Smart Communications Inc. said its mobile Internet revenues amounted to P3.09 billion from January to March, up from the P2.24 billion in the same period last year.

The first quarter increase in mobile Internet revenues is much faster than the 19 percent year-on-year uptick posted in the first quarter of 2015.

Mobile Internet accounts for 30 percent of PLDT’s mobile data and broadband revenues.

“We are clearly pressing on with the shift to data as a revenue driver for the business. This quarter’s results show we are not only growing the revenues of mobile data – we are growing it twice as fast,” Ariel Fermin, PLDT and Smart executive vice president and head of consumer business said.

Fermin said the drivers of the mobile Internet revenue growth are the smartphone adoption among subscribers and strong demand for digital services.

Of Smart and Sun’s total subscribers, 45 percent are smartphone users, higher than the 30 percent last year.

Smart’s mobile data traffic rose 51 percent within the network, equivalent to 32,618 terabytes worth of data for just the first three months.

“As we continue to push smartphone adoption among our subscribers, we are at the same time stepping up our efforts to stimulate mobile data usage by offering the most relevant digital services,” Fermin said.

As part of the move to encourage mobile data usage, Smart during the first quarter, started offering the Smart Prepaid myPhone28 worth P888, with one year of free mobile data.

For more advanced devices, Smart offered the Samsung Galaxy S7 and bundled it with the Samsung Gear VR.

Smart also continues to actively promote its package of digital services for smartphones. The package covers entertainment in various forms such as movies and videos on iFlix, music via Spinnr, books and magazines, and e-Sports via GameX.

Smart has likewise partnered with top apps like Uber and Airbnb for a complete suite of digital services for subscribers.

Fermin said the strategies implemented are gaining traction with subscribers willing to spend for mobile data services.

He said 83 percent of the users of Free Basics (formerly Internet.org), which Facebook first launched in the Philippines in partnership with Smart to allow individuals online access for free, eventually started buying data load packages in order to continue using the mobile Internet services that they like.

“Critical to all of this is our ability to provide the best customer experience when it comes to mobile data. Mindful of that, we are underpinning all of these initiatives with our drive to build and maintain a superior network as the foundation of our digital strategy,” Fermin said.

PLDT has earmarked P43 billion worth of capital expenditures this year, with the bulk to be spent to improve Internet services in the country.