PLDT expands home fibre network across all of Metro Manila
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PLDT expands home fibre network across all of Metro Manila

PLDT Home Fibr.jpg

Philippines operator PLDT says it has expanded its home fibre service to all cities and municipalities in Metro Manila, the country’s capital region.

The fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) service, which PLDT markets as Home Fibr, is offering customers speeds up to 1Gbps, said the company.

“Fibre remains the ideal solution to the connectivity needs of fast growing urban communities such as those in Metro Manila,” said Oscar Enrico Reyes, consumer market development head for PLDT and its mobile sister company, Smart. “PLDT Home Fibr establishes the strongest connections and top-of-the-line services that benefit both homes and businesses.”

Metro Manila has a population of 13 million in 620 sq km.

According to PLDT’s website, prices for the fibre service are high. The company quotes the equivalent of $123 a month – 6299 pesos – for 250Mbps. The slowest service on offer, 30Mbps, is $45 a month. All packages come with three Google-designed mesh Wifi points. The site does not currently quote a price for the full 1Gbps.

“Google Wifi greatly improves customer experience because its mesh network of high-powered modems ensures that all parts of the home have strong broadband service,” said Reyes.

PLDT is spending 78.4 billion pesos ($1.53 billion) on capex this year, on both its fixed and mobile networks.

PLDT says its FTTH expansion in Metro Manila is part of an “aggressive nationwide fibre expansion programme”, which has already covered a number of key urban areas, which it is calling PLDT Fibr Cities.

In the first quarter of 2019, PLDT says it expanded the coverage of its fibre-powered, fixed line broadband network to 6.7 million homes passed, a 6% increase from the end of 2018. The company now has reached 3.02 million fibre ports, including 1.61 million that are available for new customers.

Moreover, PLDT says it expanded the total footprint of its fibre network to 259,000km, up 6% from the end of 2018. This fibre network serves both PLDT and Smart.

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