Sky Cable offers free internet for 3 months to new subscribers

MANILA, Philippines — The telco arm of ABS-CBN Corp. is offering three months of free internet to new subscribers in the corporate segment, but with a catch.

New customers of SKYBIZ, the business solutions provider of Sky Cable Corp., are getting three months of free connectivity through the BIZBB plan.

However, subscribers must pay three months in advance to be able to avail themselves of the promo, giving them free internet in the fourth to sixth month of their billing cycle.

BIZBB promises a download speed of as fast as 200 Mbps as Sky Cable designed the package for large-scale business tasks. Apart from this, BIZBB comes with a guaranteed personal account management and all day, every day customer support.

Sky Cable offers BIZBB primarily to enterprises and freelancers needing high-speed internet to complete day-to-day tasks. The bundle is priced at P1,699 per month, with no installation fees required.

Sky Cable, owned by ABS-CBN, is struggling to get up from its pandemic decline, posting a net loss of P653 million in 2023, attributed to the weakening demand for pay TV.

ABS-CBN also lacks the capital to improve the broadband side of the subsidiary, as the parent is also finding it hard to nurse its finances following its exit on free TV.

Still, ABS-CBN is eager to build up the business viability of Sky Cable, promising stakeholders that a strategy will be disclosed as soon as finalized.

Recently, ABS-CBN has reignited news that it will sign a deal for Sky Cable with a new partner. Pampanga-based tycoon and Converge ICT Solutions Inc. owner Dennis Anthony Uy reportedly expressed interest in Sky Cable, as he diversifies his portfolio in the digital space.

The entry of a new investor is seen as crucial for Sky Cable to sustain its operations.

To date, the company owes lenders P4.5 billion, of which P2.05 billion is due in 12 months.

To recall, ABS-CBN was supposed to dispose of Sky Cable through a P6.75 billion buyout with telco leader PLDT Inc., but the transaction was abandoned by both parties.

Had the deal gone through, Sky Cable would have shut down its pay TV segment, keeping only its broadband services to align with the core business of its new owner.