Telco sector powers 8.6% of Philippines economy

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December 14, 2025 | 12:00am

Higher than global benchmark

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine mobile industry is outpacing global counterparts in terms of economic contribution, as the country gets 8.4 to 8.6 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) from activities in the telco space.

Based on a report from GSMA, the umbrella organization of the telco sector, the country’s mobile industry contribution to GDP is larger than the global benchmark of 7.7 percent.

For telco-to-tech giant Globe Telecom Inc., there are more opportunities to pinch from an economy that is on the early stage of digital transition.

Globe president and CEO Carl Raymond Cruz said they are optimistic the industry can grow despite concerns of market saturation. He underscored the urgency of bringing new solutions, as Filipinos look for more value-added services.

“I’m hopeful and optimistic about Philippine telecom because we still have many opportunities ahead. We have a young population, strong digital habits and real demand, so we need to further unlock those potential,” Cruz said.

Globally, telcos are investing roughly 16 percent of revenues on capital expenditures, but this is far from the case here in the Philippines where telcos spend about 37 percent.

Moreover, Filipinos consume nearly nine hours each day on the internet, placing the Philippines as the third busiest digital country in the world.

A recent study from DataReportal also showed that Filipinos now rank sixth in the world among the most frequent users of artificial intelligence (AI) platforms, particularly ChatGPT.

However, the number of cellular towers are far from matching the population. The Philippines is home to just 40,000 towers serving more than 115 million people, whereas in Thailand there are 90,000 towers connecting 70 million consumers.

Cruz also sees opportunities in the use of AI tools to optimize connectivity services in broadband and wireless segments. He said mobile networks may fail to support the AI workload, making it necessary for providers to invest in fixed-line infrastructure.

Cruz lauded government efforts to set up a national fiber backbone that would accelerate data transfer within the archipelago.

According to the Globe chief, these opportunities encourage telcos to make network investments to place themselves ahead of the curve.