SMART COMMUNICATIONS, Inc. yesterday claimed to have 1.3 million broadband Internet subscribers, asserting its dominance in the growing business segment.
In a statement, Smart Broad-band, Inc., the telecommunication firm’s broadband unit, said it now serves more than 1.3 million subscribers while about seven million more surf the Internet through “native services” such as mobile phone subscriptions.
“This is expected to help hike the number of Internet users in the country, pegged at about 29.7 million as of June 2010, or about 30% of the country’s estimated 2010 population of almost 100 million Filipinos,” Smart Communications said.
Danilo Mojica, Smart Communication’s Wireless Consumer Division head, said in the statement the firm expects to gain even more broadband subscribers.
“We continue to expand this array of options in order to deliver as many access points to our subscribers as possible, at costs that are within their means, regardless of the device that they have in their homes or in their hands,” he said.
Rival Globe Telecom, Inc. previously disclosed that it had 930,000 broadband subscribers in the first half of the year, from last year’s 379,000.
Globe Telecom had said the increase in broadband subscribers was driven by growth in the number of users of the broadband service “Tattoo” as well as WiMAX for “at-home” Internet.
Meanwhile, Gokongwei-led Digital Telecommunications Philippines, Inc., operator of Sun Cellular, has about 400,000 broadband Internet users.
Smart Communications is the mobile unit of Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT). Mediaquest Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT’s Beneficial Trust Fund, has a minority stake in BusinessWorld. -- Aura Marie P. Dagcutan
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