PLDT eyes bigger budget for 5G expansion next year

PLDT Inc. may set a higher budget for the expansion of its 5G network next year, while also expecting its ability to deliver fixed wireless services to homes to increase significantly in a couple of years.

“We are in the middle of our budget planning for next year, and we will propose to the chairman further expansion of our 5G coverage. Obviously, we will work with our network team to make that happen,” Chief Revenue Officer Alfredo S. Panlilio said at a virtual briefing on Wednesday.

PLDT’s wireless arm Smart Communications, Inc. launched its 5G service commercially in July.

Mr. Panlilio added that PLDT will also be rolling out more fiber lines and ports nationwide in the next three to six months, as the telecommunications services company aims to serve the “continuously rising demand of more Filipinos for high-speed broadband and connectivity.”

PLDT announced separately that its units, PLDT Enterprise and Smart, are in an “advanced stage of discussion” with the multinational telecommunications firm, Nokia Corp., to provide Internet of Things (IoT) services for its customers.

“Smart and Nokia intend to build the ‘Smart IoT Platform’ – the first of its kind for enterprises in the Philippines. This platform aims to help businesses easily deploy IoT services and solutions to manage their connected devices for growth opportunities in the future,” PLDT said in an e-mailed statement.

At the briefing, PLDT Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Manuel V. Pangilinan said: “We believe that in about a year or two, the ability of delivering fixed wireless services to the homes will increase significantly.”

He added that PLDT is focusing on fiber to the home, ”which we think will still remain the best platform to deliver services like entertainment, video, sports, and the like.”

He noted that PLDT’s fixed wireless services will become more important in servicing both the middle and the lower segments of the whole market, which are about “25 million households.”

PLDT and Smart had spent some P260 billion in total capital expenditures (capex) over the past five years.

The PLDT group’s capex reached P72.9 billion in 2019. It expects to spend a total of P70 billion this year despite the pandemic.

Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has a majority stake in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Arjay L. Balinbin