Globe investing $2 B for ultra-fast Internet

MANILA, Philippines - Globe Telecom Inc. is looking to invest $2 billion in five years to deploy fiber optic cables and achieve its goal of providing ultra-fast Internet service to two million homes nationwide.

Globe chief commercial officer Albert de Larrazabal said the telco may spend up to $2 billion over a five-year period to meet its target of providing faster Internet access to two million households by 2020.

“$2 billion over five years would be easy,” he said.

Globe’s 2020 goal involves the deployment of fiber optics in 20,000 barangays in order to give about two million households high-speed Internet connectivity.

Fiber optics offer the fastest way to access data, enabling users to have higher download and upload speeds.

In line with the 2020 goal, Globe has partnered with the city government of Manila for the rollout of fiber broadband technology in Binondo.

Larrazabal said Globe is investing at least $1 million for the initiative in Binondo to allow at least 5,000 new business and home subscribers to enjoy Internet speed of 1 Gbps, well-above the 2 Mbps average provided by DSL connections at present.

He said the rollout of the fiber technology is expected to be completed by the third quarter.

“With a fiber broadband technology in place, business establishments in Binondo will be able to utilize digital solutions that would enhance competitiveness, allowing these enterprises to operate more efficiently and expand their market reach. Our customers at home, on the other hand, will be able to download and upload large quantities of data, stream high-definition multi-media content, play online games, among other things, using multiple devices at faster speeds,” Larazabal said.

Apart from deployment of fiber broadband technology, Globe will also put up small cell technology which supports 3G and LTE in various parts of Binondo to expand network coverage and capacity.

Globe is likewise working with the city government of Manila for the construction of additional cell sites in other parts of the area as part of efforts to improve coverage.

The tedious permitting process has affected the delivery of Globe’s services, as it takes at least eight months to secure an average of 25 permits at the local government level for a single cell site.

“Permitting process has been major hurdle for us in other parts of the country and we are grateful that in the city of Manila, local government executives led by Mayor (Joseph) Estrada have been only supportive of our initiative of building on our existing network infrastructure within the capital,” Larrazabal said.

Following the partnership with the city government of Manila, Globe wants to get the cooperation of other local government units in building infrastructure for better Internet service.