A report published by the Philippines’ National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) on the country’s telecoms market says the success of wireless in the local loop (WiLL) operators galvanised the domestic fixed telephony market in 2007. Data from the regulator showed that the total number of fixed line subscribers climbed 8% last year from 3.6 million to 3.9 million, despite strong competition from mobile operators, with NTC director Edgardo Cabarios attributing growth to fixed-wireless landline services in Metro Manila and other parts of the country. ‘There is a market for this kind of service as people want mobility at a cheaper rate. The trend now is that people want to move because of the cell phone,’ he said.
Bayan Telecommunications (BayanTel) launched WiLL services in the second half of 2007 and reported 60% growth to end the year with 379,724 landline customers, up from 227,057 in 2006. PLDT had 2.1 million subscribers by December 2007, up 5% from two million a year earlier, while Globe Telecom (incl. Innove) ended the year with 329,908 clients.