Globe completes restoration projects in Vismin

CEBU, Philippines —  Globe Telecom has completed its restoration projects in Visayas and Mindanao, three months after typhoon Odette devastated its network infrastructure.

According to Wil-R Saldua, Senior Director for Broadband Customer Field Services, both the Optical Line Terminal and Network Access Points for internet services are already 100 percent restored. Generators will power facilities in places still without permanent electric supply.

Typhoon Odette toppled over 80 cell sites and compromised primary and secondary backup lines in December 2021.

The Ayala-led integrated telecommunication services provider, however clarified that there are minor customer-related dependencies that still hinder Globe’s last-mile activities. 

Some accounts cannot be located or contacted. Many properties have defective in-house wirings or were destroyed by the typhoon. Others need new fiber drops to connect the network to customer premises.

“We are thankful to our teams who came from all over the country to help in repair and restoration. This time, we have people doing a proactive sweep of offline customers located in working facilities to ensure that they can again enjoy Globe services even if they do not have repair requests,” said Saldua.

“There will always be unforeseen events that affect our operations. While disasters are beyond our control, we try to mitigate their effects by ensuring that preparedness and business continuity remain at the core of Globe network’s life cycle,” explained Yoly Crisanto, senior vice president, group corporate communications and chief sustainability officer at Globe.

Crisanto added that for Globe connectivity is vital, “so we endeavor to provide public service at the soonest possible time.

Globe has deployed over 220 teams since December 17, 2021 to address numerous challenges wrought by the magnitude of Odette's impact. Its activities, however, were hampered by power outages, multiple fiber cuts, and road clearing operations by local government units (LGUs) and other utility providers.

Globe supports the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, particularly UN SDG No. 9, highlighting the roles of infrastructure and innovation as crucial drivers of economic growth and development. It is committed to upholding the UN Global Compact principles and contributing to 10 UN SDGs.