Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 4) — Industry giant PLDT plans to switch off its 3G network by 2023, seeing the Philippine market ready with more subscribers riding on the faster 4G technology.
“We are looking at next year for shutting down our 3G network we want to maximise our frequencies to other technologies that we use,” PLDT Network Head Mario Tamayo said during the group’s financial briefing on Thursday.
The Pangilinan-led group has long been investing billions of pesos in its network infrastructure while also accelerating customers’ migration from 2G/3G SIM cards to 4G-or 5G-ready SIM cards.
This shift will give subscribers a better mobile experience as 4G and 5G offer faster internet speeds.
Alfredo Panlilio, PLDT and Smart president and chief executive officer, expressed confidence the shift to 4G would be “easier.”
He noted that only 4% of subscribers are currently on 3G.
“The bigger challenge is bringing the 2G users to 4G,” Panlilio said.
As of end-June, the group’s mobile subscribers reached 69.39 million.
Meanwhile, during the briefing, officials discussed PLDT’s financial performance in the first six months of 2022.
Its telco core income jumped 12% to ₱17 billion, while reported income also went up 30% to ₱16.7 billion.
PLDT’s consolidated service revenues also rose to an all-time high of ₱94.3 billion in January-June period.
For the first half, PLDT already spent ₱46 billion out of its ₱85 billion allotted investment for 2022.
“We expect stronger headwinds in the second half, with higher inflation impacting our customers’ pockets as well as our own operating costs. With so much pressure on growth, it is imperative that we stay focused on our strategic initiatives and managing costs,” PLDT Chairman Manuel V Pangilinan was quoted as saying in the disclosure.
“As to full year profit guidance, we maintain Telco Core Income at ₱33 billion, albeit some upside may be possible as portions of proceeds from the Towers sale are used to pay down debts in the second half,” he added.
