Telco opportunity to generate revenue through mobile data and fixed broadband plans
The highly saturated mobile telecom market in the Philippines is forecast to witness moderate growth in the percentage of mobile subscriptions in 2020 due to the Covid-19 outbreak, according to new GlobalData findings.
The percentage of mobile subscriptions growth will be less in 2020 as almost half of the country’s population will be staying indoors and also the temporary shutdown of businesses and travel restrictions will result in fewer SIM sales.
Moreover, Covid-19 has had a massive impact on the economy, negatively affecting income and new phone sales. But there is opportunity for telecommunications providers to generate revenue through mobile data and fixed broadband plans during the lockdown period.
For example, PLDT witnessed an increase in their fixed lines data traffic of 15 per cent to 20 per cent in the first week of community quarantine. The rise in mobile data usage along with an increase in voice calls and text messages were also witnessed by the operator.
Telco operators in the Philippines are taking effective steps to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic and provide essential support to their customers both on new offers and services and also on network coverage.
PLDT and Globe have taken certain steps to cater to the increasing internet and data demand during the 30-day lockdown period. For its fibre broadband subscribers, PLDT is offering free ‘speed boost’, providing a minimum Internet connection speeds of 25 Mbps.
PLDT’s mobile arm, Smart, is also offering free access to official websites such as the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, and the Philippine Information Agency.
Moreover, to equip medical front-liners with reliable data connectivity, Smart is providing free, fast, and 24/7 Smart Wi-Fi to newly-activated Covid-19 facilities.
We expect the overall telecom service revenue to witness a slight decline in 2020 over 2019 owing to the impact of Covid-19 on businesses and a weaker economic outlook. However, the revenue will return to growth in 2021, driven by rising demand in consumer fixed and mobile broadband services.
Telcos will witness robust growth in mobile data and fixed Internet usage during the lockdown period as people will rely heavily on their mobile and fixed network connections for their day-to-day activities.
During the lockdown, telcos will continue to take significant measures and provide efficient fixed and mobile network connectivity and heavy-bandwidth for video streaming with increased data speeds and capacity to both the consumer and business segments to stay connected.
