Synopsis
The number of mobile telephone subscribers in the Philippines somehow continues to grow, in large part due to the popularity of SMS services as well as the price and inaccessibility of fixed-line services. In 2005 and into 2006, the growth rate had slowed significantly; however, by the second half of 2006 the market had once again started to grow rapidly, continuing through 2007 and 2008. Coming into 2009, however, there were signs that the global recession was having an impact on the local economy and in turn on the local mobile market. Nevertheless the market continued to grow. Data showed that PLDT subsidiary Smart led the operators with just under 52% market share, followed by Globe Telecom with almost 36% and Digitel with almost 13%. This report provides an overview of the major operators in the Philippine mobile market with some pertinent statistics.