Mobile operator Sun Cellular added 200,000 subscribers to its mobile broadband service in 2012, raising its total subscriber base by 40% to approximately 650,000.

Ricky Pena, Sun Cellular’s Senior Vice-President for Postpaid, Broadband and New Business Marketing attributed this to the rising demand for internet mobility, increasing use of smartphones and tablets, as well as Sun’s improved network coverage.

“We continue to offer broadband products at every price point and we have also worked hard to deliver consistent and reliable internet service that discriminating customers clamor for,” Pena said.

Prepaid broadband subscriptions jumped 77% in 2012, compared to the previous year. Sun’s Mobile Internet revenues likewise accelerated by 63 % compared to the same period last year.

“Our initiative to make smartphones and android-powered devices more accessible to the masses is starting to pay off, as more and more customers are now subscribing to our mobile internet services,” said Pena.

Last October, Sun Cellular started offering postpaid plans that bundle smartphone handset and tablets for PhP600.00 a month. Dubbed the “Sundroid Rush”, Pena said that this did not only help boost mobile internet revenues, it also helped increase the company’s postpaid mobile subscriber base.

Sun Cellular saw a 16% increase in postpaid subscribers by end 2012 compared to the same period in 2011. The figure brings Sun Cellular closer to regaining the leadership in postpaid subscription.

In an earlier statement, Sun Cellular’s mother company PLDT said that it sees broadband revenues rising given the demand of the younger and empowered market, the expected decline in Smartphone prices, and the Group’s strong network advantage.