PLDT Inc. is on track to double its domestic network capacity by yearend to address the increasing demand for faster internet connectivity, the telco said in a statement.
PLDT said it will almost double its existing total capacity of 55 Terabits per second (Tbps) to 92 Tbps by yearend, or more than triple its capacity from 30 Tbps last year.
This boost in capacity will offer customers, including individuals, homes and businesses, and future subscribers faster connectivity and ready access to more bandwidth-heavy digital services such as video streaming and work collaboration tools which have become more prevalent since the pandemic, the telco added.
“We continuously invest in expanding our network because this ensures the best end-user experience and empowers our increasingly-connected societies where our customers’ digital lifestyles rely on strong connectivity. We are increasing this backbone capacity ahead of the demand as doing so ultimately allows us to enable our fellow Filipinos to thrive and secure a better future,” said Alfredo Panlilio, PLDT and Smart Communications Inc. president and chief executive officer.
According to PLDT, demand for digital services and data consumption has greatly increased its network utilization. On mobile data traffic alone, the telco noted an increase of 17 percent to 1,579 Petabytes in the first half of the year compared to the same period last year.
PLDT reported an of average 267 Petabytes in monthly data usage in the second quarter, up 11 percent from last year’s monthly average consumed data on mobile.
For PLDT Home, it said 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 Home business anticipates to hit 1 million new fiber subscriptions for this year alone, as it fast-tracks the rollout of its fiber-to-the-home 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 percent versus the nearest competitor, the telco said.
As the country’s largest fully integrated telco services provider, PLDT said it 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.
The domestic network capacity expansion complements the PLDT Group’s growing international capacity that helps direct data traffic going in and out of the country.
Currently, PLDT said it is part of 15 international cable systems that will also see an increase in network capacity once the Jupiter Cable system becomes operational early next year. – Myla Iglesias
