PLDT wireless subsidiary Smart Communications (Smart) doubled its internet revenue in the first quarter of 2016 that is aligned with the strategy to raise revenue contributions from data and digital product segments.
The surge in Smart’s mobile Internet revenues clearly shows the upward trajectory of the business as the telco posted P3.091 billion in mobile data revenues for the first quarter of 2016, or 38 percent more than the same period in 2015.
Mobile internet revenues now account for 30 percent of PLDT’s mobile data and broadband revenues, up from the same period last year.
Ariel Fermin, PLDT and Smart executive vice president and head of consumer business, said thisgrowth is double the 19 percent year-on-year increase in Smart’s mobile data revenues from the first quarter of 2015 (P2.235 billion) versus the same period in 2014 (P1.878 billion).
“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 but we are growing it twice as fast,” Fermin said.
Fermin cited the increased smartphone adoption among subscribers and a strong subscriber appetite for digital services as the twin drivers for growth.
Almost half, or 45 percent, of the subscribers of PLDT’s wireless brands Smart and Sun are now using smartphones, up from only 30 percent last year.
Smart also posted a robust, 51-percent increase in mobile data traffic within the network, equivalent to 32,618 terabytes worth of data for just the first three months of the year.
“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.