Globe Telecom Inc. has increased its fiber network rollout by 51 percent in August this year compared to a year ago to address the rising demand for home broadband services.
Globe said it put up additional fiberized lines in key locations including Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Batangas, Cebu and Davao del Sur.
In the Visayas, fiber deployment is highest in Cebu, while Davao del Sur has been the recipient of aggressive builds in Mindanao. Globe said these efforts were made despite the challenges of more than seven months of varying quarantine protocols all over the country due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“We are complementing our aggressive mobile network upgrades with similar determination when it comes to our fiber to home efforts. In highly urbanized areas, where it is a challenge to build more cell towers, fiber will be key in giving our customers better internet experience as we move towards becoming a truly digital nation,” said Joel Agustin, Globe senior vice president for program delivery, Network Technical Group.
In the National Capital Region, Agustin identified Manila, Quezon City and Caloocan City as having the most areas covered with fiber lines, followed by Pasig, Taguig, Las Piñas, Valenzuela, Makati, Parañaque and Pasay City to round out the top 10 cities.
“Expanding our fiber footprint to penetrate homes and residential areas will fill the gap on home broadband access. This will definitely improve experience now that more Filipino households rely on the internet for their work, education, entertainment and other essential needs,” Agustin added.
Compared to the obsolete copper cables, fiber optic internet sends data faster, at much higher bandwidths. It is delivered on a dedicated line which facilitates a more consistent experience.
It is also immune to many of the conditions that copper cables are susceptible to.
Moreover, fiber optic internet is less likely to have service disruptions.
Accelerating fiber rollout to homes is part of Globe’s three-pronged strategy to improve data experience and network performance. Globe said the ramp up of fiberization efforts will be done progressively until 2021.
