Globe ramps up LTE deployment in VisMin areas

Globe Telecom Inc. is ramping up deployment of Long Term Evolution (LTE) sites in the Visayas and Mindanao.

Joel Agustin, Globe senior vice president for program governance, network technical group, said the company has deployed close to 3,000 LTE sites in the Visayas and Mindanao, representing nearly 60 percent of the two regions.

“Our customers in Visayas and Mindanao are now enjoying the benefit of a more pervasive LTE network in the region following accelerated deployment of LTE sites using various frequencies. We expect customer experience to continue improving moving forward as we step up deployment of LTE sites,” he said.

Globe is rolling out LTE to address the growing demand for bandwidth as customers are consuming more digital content.

As of the first semester, Globe mobile data traffic surged 85 percent to 280 petabytes from the previous year’s 151 petabytes.

For its LTE rollout, Globe is utilizing various frequencies.

Agustin said the lower frequencies like the 700 Megahertz (MHz) band provide better indoor coverage.

Globe gained access to the 700 MHz after it acquired half of the telco assets of San Miguel Corp. last year.

Higher frequencies such as the 1800 MHz and 2600 MHz bands, meanwhile, give additional capacity for data.

Globe has set its capex at $750 million this year, with the the bulk going to data-related projects including the deployment of LTE for mobile and for the home, modernization of fixed line data infrastructure for corporates, as well as requirements for transmission facilities.

Earlier this month, Globe president and chief executive officer Ernest Cu said the telco may raise capital expenditures up to $800 million this year to address growing demand of customers for data services.

As of the first-half, Globe has spent more than $500 million worth of capex.