Integrated telco PLDT Inc. may soon give its own version of prepaid fiber to compete with low-cost companies like Converge ICT Solutions Inc. and Globe Telecom Inc.
Jojo Gendrano, the head of PLDT’s corporate business group and a senior vice president at the company, told reporters that the company could enter the prepaid fiber internet market.
Gendrano said that before launching a product or service, PLDT does a lot of research, especially on how well it fits the market. The company also looks at the people it is trying to reach to see if the service will work in the long run.
Even though two of its competitors are already selling the product to low-income families, PLDT has not yet released its own version of prepaid fiber.
In June, Converge joined the low-cost market with Surf2Sawa. For ₱50 a day, ₱200 for seven days, ₱380 for 15 days, and ₱700 for 30 days, users could get up to 25 Mbps of unlimited internet.
Converge is hoping that Surf2Sawa will get more than 120,000 subscribers and make ₱500 million in revenue this year. By 2025, the company wants to have at least 1 million users.
On the other hand, Globe launched GFiber Prepaid last week, which also gives people endless internet. The product promises a download speed of up to 30 Mbps for ₱299 for seven days, ₱549 for fifteen days, and ₱999 for thirty days. Installation costs ₱1,499 once.
Globe thinks that its low-cost fiber will be used by about 200,000 people this year. Given how cheap GFiber Prepaid is, the company run by Ayala expects it to bring in an average revenue per user (ARPU) of ₱700, which is much less than the postpaid segment’s ARPU of ₱850 as of March.
READ: Globe Rolls Out Prepaid Fiber Internet
Telco companies are coming up with their own low-cost subscriptions to help their users deal with the effects of inflation.
Without these new choices, users who want unlimited internet at home would have to pay at least ₱1,000 per month for a postpaid plan.
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