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The total fixed communication services revenue in the Philippines is expected to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.2 per cent from US$3.8 billion in 2023 to US$4.9 billion in 2028.
This is according to the latest findings from analytics firm GlobalData, which added that the growth will be driven by the country’s fixed broadband sector.
“Fixed broadband services revenue will increase at a healthy CAGR of 6.4 per cent during 2023-2028, driven by the steady growth in broadband subscriptions, especially higher average revenue per subscription (ARPS) yielding fibre broadband subscriptions,” said Srikanth Vaidya, telecom analyst at GlobalData.
However, the firm findings revealed that the fixed voice revenue growth will remain stagnant and register a mere 0.8 per cent CAGR over the next five years.
This is due to a steady decline in circuit-switched subscriptions and a drop in fixed voice ARPS as a result of growing consumer preference for mobile- or internet-based communications and free voice minutes bundled as a part of operators’ fixed plans.
In addition, GlobalData found that fibre lines accounted for a majority 61 per cent share in the total fixed broadband lines in 2023. This is likely to increase to about 71 per cent by 2028, supported by the government and operator investments in fibre network infrastructure and fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) service expansions.
“PLDT will lead the fixed voice services segment in terms of subscriptions through 2028,” said Vaidya. “The operator will also top the fixed broadband services market, by subscriptions, supported by its strong position in digital subscriber line (DSL) and FTTH service lines.
“The operator plans to invest a CAPEX of around PHP80 billion to PHP85 billion (US$1.5 billion to US$1.6 billion) in 2023 and seeks to upgrade and expand its fibre broadband network and gain from wider coverage of its FTTH services.”
PLDT’s ongoing efforts to ramp up its 5G and networking capabilities in the Philippines will also significantly contribute to the growth of the mobile services market, which is set to rise to US$4.3 billion in 2028 according to GlobalData.
