Filipino operator PLDT has stated that it will migrate all customers still using its legacy copper wire network onto fibre within the next 18 months.
The operator’s Chairman, President and CEO Manuel Pangilinan has said that users will receive a “free” upgrade to their internet speeds as part of the move, which is aimed at facilitating customer access to “powerful connectivity like fibre, 4G and now 5G.”
Al Panlilio, who is both PLDT’s chief revenue officer and the President of its mobile unit Smart Communications, added: “This modernisation programme will boost the internet service of both PLDT Home and Enterprise customers to fibre speeds, at no added cost.”
As reported by TeleGeography, PLDT’s fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) network extended to 7.8 million households in the Philippines as of end-June 2020, a year-on-year increase of 8%. The operator claims that its 360,000km of fibre constitutes the country’s most extensive digital data infrastructure.