Philippine telco PLDT Home said revenues grew 82 percent to Php33 billion (US$630 million), driven by 1.13 million new fiber subscribers in 2021, despite the COVID-19 blockade and natural disasters.
Exceeding its original target of 1 million new fiber subscribers in 2021, PLDT's total fixed broadband customers are now close to 3 million, a record high for the group, as it continues to average more than 107,000 installations per month by year-end, according to a press release from the archipelago's national integrated telecommunications company. The aggressive expansion has enabled PLDT Home to pass more than half of the country's estimated 25 million homes and connect an additional 1.13 million new fiber customers - 10 percent above target.
Despite the impact of Super Typhoon Odette, PLDT Home's fiber business service revenues soared 91 percent year-on-year to Php9.8 billion in the fourth quarter. This drove full-year revenue growth of 82 percent year-on-year for the fiber business, the company explained. total home services revenue for 2021 reached a record high of Php47.8 billion, up 24 percent from 2020.
"Pandemic shows us that a strong and reliable home Internet connection is critical to our daily lives, enabling us to continue to work, study and connect with our loved ones, while keeping us safe at home, which is what matters most to us, helping to improve the lives of Filipino families, and the momentum we generated last year supports our expectations for stronger 2022 performance expectations, especially as we complete our copper service migration by the end of 2022 and as customers continue to demand faster and more reliable Internet connectivity," said PLDT Home Business Senior Advisor.
By the end of 2021, PLDT Home's total fiber capacity reached 5.77 million ports, expanding fixed broadband services to nearly 60 percent of the country's 1,634 cities and towns. 1.7 million additional fiber ports were installed in 2021.
PLDT's fixed broadband business expanded its fiber coverage to 13.9 million homes passed last year, exceeding its goal of 13 million homes passed.
PLDT Home ends 2021 with 3 million subscribers, an 87 percent increase over 2020 levels. Average net additions of 107,000 fiber installations per month, with an average migration of 35,000 per month per quarter, reaching 326,000 net additions of fiber by the fourth quarter of 2021.
