MANILA - PLDT said Monday it will spend P88 billion to P92 billion next year to improve services for both mobile and fixed broadband customers.

The 2021 capital expenditure is at least 20 percent higher than the P73 billion allotted and spent this year, the Manny Pangilinan-led telco said.

"Our capex commitment next year is at a level that will be 20 percent to 25 percent higher than this year’s capex, focused on expanding our fiber footprint and our wireless coverage," Alfredo S. Panlilio, PLDT Chief Revenue Officer and Smart Communications President and CEO, told the stock exchange.

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Panlilio said the company aspires to be at par with neighboring countries such as Thailand and Vietnam, which offer average internet speeds of 183.58 Mbps and 59.80 Mbps respectively compared to the Philippines' 27.07 Mbps.

"This is our aspiration, to really bring that level of service to the Filipino people," he added

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President Rodrigo Duterte earlier gave telco firms until this month to ramp up network services to avoid "closure" or "expropriation", in a move to improve connectivity for Filipinos amid the stay-at-home setup.

• Palace says telcos rushing to give update on service improvement
• PLDT to hike 5G investments in 2021 to boost 'customer experience'
• PLDT says investing in enhanced connectivity, 40 pct of sites on 5G by end-2021

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