PH telecom companies facing tough challenges.

Byline: Paolo G. Montecillo

THE LOCAL telecommunications sector received a blow in 2010 when the countrys maturing market and steady decline in prices led to lower revenue and earnings for industry players.

The year was defined by an industry-wide decline in revenue as earnings from traditional call and short messaging service (SMS), or text service, dipped.

Although companies worked to improve profit margins by introducing innovative services, their efforts did not amount to much.

In the past, tough competition among market players did not stop any of them from raking in huge profits. Their Ebitda (earnings before income tax, depreciation and amortization) margins reached levels that companies in other sectors …