Globe bares progress report
They all wanted to explain their service improvements. We had an agreement that the Tuesday briefing will be exclusively on telcos
The year’s ending indicates a much- needed reset for many. But as for the country’s telecommunication giants, it could lead to possible expropriation of their assets unless significant improvements in their services, which they vowed to accomplish, are identified by the government.
Earlier, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque bared that the telco duopoly of Globe Telecom Inc. and PLDT Inc. is gearing up to submit their respective progress reports before the ironclad ultimatum set by no less than President Rodrigo Duterte.
Roque disclosed that representatives from Globe and PLDT, as well as the National Telecommunications Commission ( NTC), will grace his regular Malacañang press briefing on 8 December.
“They all wanted to explain their service improvements. We had an agreement that the Tuesday briefing will be exclusively on telcos. So, we will have the telcos and NTC on Tuesday,” he said.
5G within reach
Leading up to the deadline, the Ayala-led Globe reported this week that it has already built 1,050 new sites and completed 10,876 upgrades to 4G/LTE.
The company said it will complete additional 1,300 cell sites by the end of 2020.
On top of improving mobile services, Globe also expects to complete 600,000 broadband lines by year-end — that’s a 55 percent improvement from its year-ago status.
The rollout of Globe’s fifth- generation technology ( 5G) is also “on track” to boost connectivity amid increased internet usage at home for learning, business and work due to the pandemic.
“To date, Globe has 708 sites making 5G available in 17 key cities in Metro Manila, the Visayas and Mindanao. The telco expects to cover 80 percent of Metro Manila with 5G technology by the end of 2020,” Globe said.
According to Globe president and CEO Ernest Cu, the company’s network expansion is expected to be completed in 2021.
To recall, Globe slashed its capital expenditure ( CAPEX) guidance by about 20 percent to P50.3 billion from the original budget of P63 billion this year as the strict virus lockdown upended its network rollout.
Service revamp
Meanwhile, rival PLDT said its fiber infrastructure, the most extensive in the country, is now at more than 422,000 kilometers as of November.
PLDT subsidiary Smart has also increased the number of its LTE and 3G base stations to over 58,000 by end- November, increasing the number of LTE base stations by 20 percent compared to that of end-2019.
Smart has also rolled out 496 5G sites as it accelerates its 5G commercial services nationwide.
Smart currently has over 10,000 sites across the country, including more than 700 new towers fired up this year despite mobility restrictions and supply chain challenges due to COVID-19.
Joachim Horn, PLDT chief technology and information advisor, said his group will close the year with 726 new towers fired up.
PLDT-Smart is also beefing up its customer support services in response to the increased demand for internet connectivity to meet growing demands amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Pangilinan- led PLDT originally set a P83 billion budget for this year, up 13 percent from P72.9 billion in 2019.
However, it was slashed by P20 billion to P63 billion last May due to the disruptions caused by the pandemic.
In August, PLDT increased its CAPEX program anew to P70 billion to sustain growth and bankroll data business and information technology projects.
December ultimatum
During his State of the Nation Address last July, Duterte threatened with “will find a way” to shut the telco firms down and “expropriate” their facilities if they fail to improve services before the year ends.
Duterte said the dominant players should find ways to infuse more capital if money is the problem.
“Bear in mind, the patience of the Filipino people is reaching its limit. I’m the one to articulate the anger and you may not want what I intend to do,” Duterte said.
“If you don’t have money, you can leave… Kindly improve the services by December… Tell us now if you cannot improve because I will… by December,” he added.