Flat-rate call, broadband propel PLDT fixed line business

By Erwin Lemuel Oliva INQ7.net



A FLAT-RATE per call promotion and the growth of broadband Internet have both boosted the fixed line business of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) in the second quarter of the year, the company said.
PLDT claims that paid subscribers to its fixed line subscribers increased by 12,200 during the second quarter. The 10-peso per call promo and the increase of its digital subscriber line (DSL) subscribers in this period have propelled the telephone company's business.

Fixed line revenues were however labeled "stable" during the first half of the year, but the company noted a 5 percent quarter-on-quarter growth to 12.4 billion pesos.

PLDT’s DSL subscribers have gone past the 60,000-mark, the company said.

Meanwhile the company has spent a total of 3.1 billion pesos in the first half of 2005 for upgrading its fixed line network into an IP-based system, also called next generation network. PLDT Expects to spend a total of 7 billion pesos by end of the year to upgrade its whole fixed line system.

"The next two years will be a reinvestment and reinvention phase for PLDT fixed line business, as we pursue our goal of progressing to our next-generation network; to simplify our network architecture; develop new revenue streams and growth opportunities; and [foster] closer coordination between our fixed and wireless businesses," said Napoleon Nazareno, president and CEO of PLDT and Smart Communications.