PLDT to end 3G services next year

Telecommunications giant PLDT Inc. is planning to shut down its third generation (3G) network in 2023.

At a press briefing in Makati City on Thursday, PLDT chief finance officer Anabelle Chua said that the telco intends to "sunset" its 3G network as only "less than 5% of devices use 3G."

"There is an opportunity to optimize our network with the shutdown of 3G eventually," she said.

For his part, PLDT Network head Mario Tamayo said that the company was "looking at next year [to shut down] our 3G network."

"We want to maximize our frequencies with other technologies that we use," he added.

PLDT- Smart president and CEO Alfredo Panlilio said that the market was ready for the shutdown of 3G service as only 4% of subscribers were using 3G.

"The jump to 4G is easier. The bigger challenge is bringing the 2G users to 4G," he said.

As of the first half of 2022, PLDT had a core telco income of P17 billion, up 12% year-on-year.

Panlilio said that PLDT was on track to meet its 2022 targets. For this year, the telco is targeting a core telco income of P33 billion.

Consolidated revenues stood at P94.3 billion, up 5% from a year earlier.

For the January to June period, PLDT spent P46 billion of its planned P85 billion capital expenditure for the year.

The capital spending includes investments in capacity to support the home broadband business and the rise in network traffic; the construction of the 11th data center targeting hyperscalers; the international cabling systems Jupiter and Apricot; and the impact of the sale and leaseback of towers and the building out of additional towers by tower companies.

"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 manage costs," PLDT chairman Manuel Pangilinan said.

"As for full-year profit guidance, we maintain telco core income at P33 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." —VBL, GMA News