Growth in the mobile segment of the Philippines telecom market has been moderating after years of strong exapansion. Initially the slowing in the market was partly due to a general downturn in the Philippine economy; however, even as the economy picked up, it became obvious that mobile subscriber numbers were continuing to increase but at a generally slower pace. Mobile revenue growth also down in what has for many years been a highly competitive market. Into 2013 the Philippines had over 100 million mobile subscribers. Penetration, having eased past the 100% milestone, had moved to 112% by March 2013. Ongoing annual subscriber growth of between 5% and 10% looked likely.
Clearly the economy will be an important factor in the continued expansion of the Philippine telecom sector. Earlier on, the recession in the US, its main trading partner, had hit exports hard but the country seemed to have generally overcome this setback. Following the big 'down' year in 2009, the country's GDP growth bounced back up again in 2010 reaching almost 8% (even exceeding the 31-year high of 7.3% in 2007). It then fell back to under 4% in 2011. The IMF estimated growth of almost 7% in 2012. Annual growth in the range 5%-6% looked likely to occur in the short term at least.
