PLDT, SMART dominate as fastest internet provider in PH

PLDT and SMART is recognized, for the fifth time, as the fastest internet provider in the country. This was announced last month by Global benchmarking company Ookla®. PLDT has dominated the Ookla® Speedtest Awards™, achieving a top speed score of 86.52 in 2022 affirming the telco's exceptional and consistent performance in delivering the country's fastest Internet speeds for the fifth consecutive year.

This is the result of PLDT’s aggressive network expansion and drive to lift the quality of customer experience.

The PLDT Group has been supporting the country's digitalization by bringing the benefits of connectivity and other digital services to more areas in the Philippines. In 2022, PLDT recorded a total of 6.08 million fiber-powered ports, covering around 17,700 barangays across the country.

PLDT President and CEO Al Panlilio said PLDT is committed to help build and empower the nation by setting the bar high in providing world-class digital services for Filipinos

PLDT delivers a fiber-optic speed of up to 10 Gbps, which was made available to the public as early as 2021. This move has placed the Philippines alongside first-world nations in terms of ultra-fast internet speeds including South Korea, Japan, Norway, Italy, New Zealand and USA.

As of end-2022, PLDT added 1.1 million new fiber subscribers, capturing 59 percent of fiber customer industry growth for 2022. This brought PLDT Home's total fiber subscribers to 2.9 million.

The company continue to get recognition from various international consulting organizations for its technical prowess and stable financial strength, affirming its dominance as the leading telco in the country against the competition.

This week, a London-based business valuation and strategy consulting firm, Brand Finance, feted PLDT with the distinction of the Most Valuable Filipino Brand for 2023.

Like the famous global brands, PLDT’s proactive efforts in creating brand loyalty, awareness, associations and maintaining international standard of their products and services among their stakeholders, have paid off.

The recognition is a true testament that over the years, PLDT has made a household name as one of the most trusted and credible telco companies in the country.

Since its inception, it unceasingly worked to help the nation push for digitalization by providing vital connectivity to help transform the Philippines into a globally competitive and digitally-empowered country.

Brand Finance adopted structured methodology to give the distinction to PLDT. In valuing the brand, it meticulously reviewed every brands’ revenue and earnings before interest and taxes, and arrived at the decision that PLDT leads other brands surveyed.

As one of the main drivers in its improved year-on-year revenue, PLDT Group’s investments in fiber technology was a key factor in receiving the prestigious award from Brand Finance, with a total fiber footprint of over 1.1 million kilometers as of end-March 2023.

With a 2 oercent annual increase in brand value to USD2.6 billion, the performance of the country’s largest integrated telco contributed to the brand capturing a higher market share of the fiber industry, which led to a 45 percent improvement in year-on-year revenue.

The Brand Finance report cited PLDT’s consistent focus on innovation as a driver to improve customer service and propel the nation towards becoming a financial and technology hub.

Beside investing on fibre technology, Brand Finance also lauded PLDT’s deployment of carbon fiber cell towers, an environmental initiative that seeks to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide produced by up to 70 percent, as compared to using traditional steel towers. Carbon fiber towers also use less land space, reducing the need for land repurposing.

“PLDT is a socially responsible corporation and seriously cares for our environment by deploying the country’s first carbon fiber cell towers, as well as solar panels in our facilities across four cities to reduce over 137 tons of greenhouse gas emissions,” Panlilio shared.

In support of the government’s digitalization goals, the citation also reinforces PLDT and Smart’s commitment to bridge the digital divide – a mandate of the Private Sector Advisory Council (PSAC) Digital Infrastructure group, where Panlilio sits as a founding member.

PLDT and Smart’s efforts recognized by Brand Finance are among the broad range of initiatives undertaken by the Group in its continuing drive to elevate customer experience and become the region’s leading ESG telco. These objectives are two of the five pillars of PLDT and Smart’s multi-year transformation launched in 2022, in response to the rapidly shifting market conditions in the Philippines.

Editor’s note: The opinions expressed in the foregoing article are solely the author’s and do not reflect the opinions and beliefs of the Philippine News Agency (PNA) or any other office under the Presidential Communications Office.