PLDT Home continues to dominate market share with innovative products, sustainable initiatives

April 21, 2024 - 3:45 PM
921
PLDT Chairman and CEO Manuel V. Pangilinan leads the country’s first demo of the ultra-fast Gigabit Fiber internet in a smart home in Forbes Park, Makati City in February 2024. (Released)

PLDT Home, the home broadband unit of the Philippines’ leading integrated network PLDT Inc. has sustained its market leadership in the country with its innovative portfolio.

2023 growth

Currently, it accounts for 50% of the total fiber-to-the-home industry customers with 3.2 million fiber customers as of the end-2023. It also posted P53 billion in the same year, registering 9% growth in revenue year-on-year.

“PLDT Home reported an industry-leading average revenue per user (ARPU) of P1,493 which is 11% higher compared to the previous year and registering better churn rates at 1.8% than the industry average of 2%,” PLDT Home said.

Since 2021, the broadband unit has consistently increased its share of industry revenues to 50.6% as of end-2023.

In 2023 alone, Jeremiah de la Cruz, PLDT senior vice President and head of Consumer Business – Home reported that the brand recorded 68% of the industry revenue growth.

Future plans, innovative portfolio

Amid its growth, the broadband unit still seeks to elevate customer experience by introducing new products for the home.

It also plans to expand its fiber footprint this year and reach more households and barangays as part of its push to grow in greenfield areas.

PLDT Home added that it used 59% of its ports as it continued its network expansion. It is likewise improving its customer care efforts by ensuring “a more proactive approach in dealing with complaints, helping reduce repair and follow-up calls.”

“Our goal is clear: we want to further elevate the experience of our customers by providing the best-in-class broadband connection and innovative products and services to more Filipino families. We plan on leveraging our multiple technologies and tailor-fitted packages to enable connectivity to every home,” Dela Cruz said.

PLDT Home is also improving its customer care efforts by ensuring a more proactive approach in dealing with complaints, helping reduce repair and follow-up calls.

Meanwhile, after it launched the country’s first Gigabit Fiber plans in February that boasts ultrafast, first-world connectivity speeds of up to 10Gbps, PLDT Home is also introducing its Always On service.

This new broadband service promises to deliver “uninterrupted connectivity” for PLDT Home customers.

“We want to continue to enable our customers to experience a new era of connectivity with technologies that provide them with an unmatched digital experience and speeds at home,” Dela Cruz said.

Other initiatives

Aside from this, the broadband unit is eyeing to help narrow the digital divide in the country by supporting various digital skilling programs that foster job creation, entrepreneurship and poverty reduction among women and vulnerable sectors of society.

Among the initiatives include child safety features in its services, PLDT’s Child Protection Platform that automatically blocks and prevents access to online child sexual abuse and exploitation materials.

“The brand has also been leveraging industry partnerships to offer digital parenting solutions and customer education efforts in line with protecting children from risks and harms online,” it added.

Furthermore, PLDT Home promotes “responsible consumption and circularity,” by incorporating electronic waste (e-waste) collection efforts in its marketing, sales, retail store operations, and customer engagements.

“Through its Be Kind. Recycle. program, PLDT’s broadband unit promotes recycling and creates an ecosystem for Filipino households to dispose of their e-waste properly and conveniently,” it said.

“As a staunch champion of sustainability, PLDT Home has been actively taking steps to ensure that our services and operations are generating positive impact to our customers, and at the same time, using its voice and maximizing every platform to enable our customers to embrace sustainable practices at home, and in the digital age,” PLDT First Vice President, Chief Sustainability Officer, and Head of Investor Relations Melissa Vergel de Dios,” said.

The brand said that these efforts are part of PLDT group’s commitment to help the country contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. — Rosette Adel