Globe Telecom Inc. expects the stiff competition in fiber broadband to continue in the next two years given the huge untapped market.
In a virtual press briefing, Darius Delgado, Globe vice president and head of broadband business, said the company is targeting to build fiber-to-the-home lines by yearend to address the huge demand for the service.
“We expect that even without the pandemic it (fiber) is going to be a staple. It’s now as relevant as water and electricity; they cannot live without it. It will be staple in every home. We see huge demand sustaining for fiber lines,” Delgado said.
He added the broadband market is expected to be hyper competitive in the next 12 to 24 months.
Delgado noted the huge growth potential for fiber broadband as the penetration rate is still at 30 percent, based on the disclosure of three telecom firms — Globe, PLDT Inc. and Converge ICT Solutions Inc. — which have 8 million combined broadband subscribers versus 22 million households nationwide.
Globe’s home broadband business posted record revenues of P7.4 billion in the first quarter of the year, up 27 percent from a year earlier — the highest so far in the telco’s history.
The continuing pandemic boosted demand for internet connections, with total home broadband subscribers now breaching the 4 million mark, up 81 percent from last year.
Globe said this was mainly supported by the sustained fixed wireless broadband users’ expansion, now up by 105 percent from last year.
Also worth noting is the increased penetration in the prepaid market and the ramp up on high-speed postpaid wired acquisitions, Globe said. As of end-March 2021, Home Prepaid WiFi data traffic rose to 211 petabytes from 58 petabytes last year.
Globe’s net income rose 11 percent to P7.3 billion three months into the year. – Myla Iglesias
