SMART Communications, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT), posted continuous gains in mobile internet with five percent increase in its earnings in the first quarter of 2011.

“Despite the lower revenues, our margins actually improved as we continue to manage our cash expenses closely and prudently. Mobile subscriber take-up remains surprisingly resilient but revenues are under pressure as a result of lower volumes in both voice and text – the number of SMS sent in fact decreased this quarter,” said Napoleon L. Nazareno, President and CEO of PLDT and Smart.

Smart cornered subscriber base of 1.4 million at the end of March 2011, with 973,000 of whom were on SmartBro’s prepaid service.

Wireless broadband revenues, inclusive of mobile Internet revenues, continued to grow, up 5 percent to P2.0 billion, compared with the P1.9 billion recorded in the first quarter of 2010.

Moreover, mobile Internet usage has been growing at a fast clip, with revenues increasing by 40 percent, from P169 million in the first three months of 2010 to P236 million in the first quarter of 2011.

Wireless broadband revenues now account for 9 percent of wireless service revenues, he said.

The PLDT earlier announced capital expenditures are in place to improve its broadband and cellular coverage and capacity and the modernization and upgrade of both its mobile and fixed networks.

Orlando B. Vea, Smart Chief Wireless Adviser, said, “We will continue to push the boundaries for broadband – we have successfully launched LTE in Boracay last April and expect to bring the high speed broadband service into Metro Manila soon."

Smart continues to invest in its cellular and multi-platform broadband networks while upgrading its existing transmission, core and access facilities. Smart’s 3G and HSPA networks now cover 50 percent and 47 percent of the country’s population, respectively.

"We expect DSL to be the anchor of the fixed line business with its continued strength in both subscriber and revenue terms. In the meantime, we are keeping a close watch on our cash expenses as we continue to explore all avenues for stabilizing the legacy fixed line revenues," declared Nazareno.