Filipino mobile operator Digitel Philippines, which trades under the banner Sun Cellular, said it reached the 6.5 million mark for subscribers at the end of June, with monthly net additions totalling around 500,00 per month in 2008. The company has set itself a target of ten million subscribers by the end of the year and aims to improve its range of services in order to reach this goal. James Go, chairman of JG Summit Holdings, the parent company of Sun Cellular, attributed the rise to the value added services the cellco is implementing as well as the affordability of its products. Go estimates Sun Cellular had a ‘close to 10%’ market share by the end of June having carved a niche in the country’s highly-competitive telecoms industry. Sun Cellular has reportedly allocated PHP12 billion (USD271 million) to expand and upgrade its networks this year, increasing the number of cellsites from 2,300 in December 2007 to 4,000 by end of this year.
Go said Sun Cellular is also considering a move into the mobile internet segment and next week will launch a wireless broadband project based on 3G with capacity for a million subscribers. The Sun man said the cellco’s 3G network would have the same coverage capacity as its competitors, Smart Communications and Globe Telecoms. ‘Our (3G) rollout is extremely strong, it’s very fast rollout and by next year we will have about the same coverage capacity as our two friends nationwide,’ he told local paper Sun Star.