PLDT Inc. wireless unit Smart Communications said that they had regained the mobile market leadership when it comes to the number of subscribers .

This was after Globe held on to the title for seven years.

Smart said they became more focused on strengthening revenues moving forward.

The telco said that presently, they have an active 55.2 million subscribers.

This follows the implementation of SIM (subscriber identity module) card registration, which is slightly more than 54.7 million of close competitor Globe Telecom Inc.

The Smart statement said that Globe had 84.75 million SIM cards prior to the SIM listup, markedly bigger than Smart’s 66.3 million. 

But the Ayala-led telco had kept the lead since 2016.

“It is a humbling experience. There is a big task ahead on the revenue side,” PLDT chair Manuel Pangilinan said.

“I don’t think the battle should be in subscriber number. The game is really your ability to grow the market,” he added.

Meanwhile, PLDT president Alfredo Panlilio said that they plan to continue acquiring more customers, through various programs such as eSIMs. 

An eSIM is a SIM card in digital form that is permanently embedded in a mobile device, which allows users to link multiple gadgets like smartphones and smartwatches under a single mobile number.