The ongoing conflict in the Middle East could create opportunities for the Philippines to attract more data center investments, an official of telecommunications firm PLDT Inc. said Thursday.
During a briefing in Makati City, PLDT Chief Operating Officer Menardo Jimenez Jr. said many data centers in the Middle East have been affected by the conflict, presenting an opportunity for telecommunications firms across Asia, including those in the Philippines.
“But if we’re not fast, the government and the private sector are not fast, in attacking that opportunity, we’re definitely going to lose to every other Asian country who wants that market,” he said.
Jimenez said PLDT is “very well-positioned to take advantage of the demand from hyperscalers,” referring to massive cloud service providers.
“When you combine that with a network, the network that we have, the backbone domestically, the network of submarine cables that connect the country to the rest of the globe quite seamlessly, that is very attractive to hyperscalers,” he said.
Earlier, Information and Communications Technology Secretary Henry Aguda said the government is studying proposals that would allow foreign entities to store data in the Philippines.
In the first quarter of the year, PLDT reported a 3-percent increase in consolidated gross service revenues to PHP54.9 billion, while net service revenues grew 2 percent to PHP48.9 billion.
Data and broadband revenues accounted for around 86 percent of service revenues at PHP41.9 billion.
Core income rose 2 percent to PHP9.1 billion. Wireless consumer revenues reached PHP21 billion, while wireless consumer data revenues increased 1 percent to PHP19.4 billion.
Capital expenditures stood at PHP10 billion, lower than the PHP10.8 billion recorded in the same period last year. (PNA)
