Philippines operator Globe Telecom made good on a pledge to ramp up connectivity coverage, announcing the construction of 107 new cell towers and laid more fibre lines in October.
In a statement, Globe Telecoms said the fresh towers added to the 593 it constructed in the first nine months of the year taking its total tally this year to 700.
The company said despite quarantine protocols, travel restrictions and social distancing, its “current builds remain ahead of schedule and steadily increasing compared to last year.”
It has immediate plans to construct around 600 more towers, and complete upgrades to 10,017 sites by year-end.
There are 39 new installations underway in: Metro Manila; 19 in Cebu and at least one cell site in Rizal; Aklan; Bohol; Leyte; Bukidnon; Davao Del Sur; Davao Oriental; Maguindanao; Misamis Oriental; Bulacan; Ilocos Sur; Nueva Ecija; Pampanga; Pangasinan; Cagayan; Albay; Batangas, Cavite, Laguna, Camarines Sur and Palawan.
As of October, the provider rolled out 70.98% more broadband lines than it did in the same period last year, with Globe’s FTTH builds forecast to grow by 318% this year compared to 2019.
“Fiberisation is our way to complement and connect more Filipino homes where our cell towers can’t be installed yet due to various reasons. By laying out more fibre to homes especially in highly-urbanized areas and densely populated parts of the country, we are improving not only our network infrastructure but our capacity as well.
"In places we can’t immediately install our cell towers, our fibre lines will keep our customers connected, updated, and better served,” said Joel Agustin, Globe SVP for program delivery, network technical group.