With regional lockdowns, hybrid work setup, and commercial spaces evolving to meet the demands of the times, Globe underscored the need for digital service providers and property developers to work hand-in-hand to create digitally-enabled communities. At this time, it’s very difficult to imagine buying a piece of property today with no mobile signal or internet connection.
Speaking at Globe Business’ Regional Insights and Strategies for Enterprises (R.I.S.E.) webinar on “Building a Digitally-Connected Future in Real Estate Today,” Globe President and CEO Ernest Cu pointed out the importance of foresight and advanced planning to shape the future of Philippine communities.
“What we put in these buildings, real estate developments, including residential areas and subdivisions are permanent. If you don’t do it right the first time, the retrofit is actually more expensive. In condominium complexes that have only copper wires, we have to tear up ceilings to re-pipe, rewire, and re-cable with fiber optics. In subdivisions, if there are no poles, we have to trench along the roads,” he said.
He stressed that early collaboration with digital service providers like Globe from the get-go is crucial even in the master planning and development stages of real estate properties.
To ensure that a building or a mixed-use community is digitally ready, planning for communications infrastructure should be done in a fashion similar to that for electrical, electromechanical, water, plumbing, sanitation, and other utilities and amenities.
Emmanuel Estrada, Globe SVP for Technology and Service Integration, said that to future-proof properties, fiber should never be overlooked. Essentially all networks today are fiber-based. Even the core of the mobile network is made up of fiber to accommodate the growth in data volumes.
“You cannot simply say let’s go into 5G. You have to be able to leverage existing assets, understand what it takes to adopt the new technology, build it now, and then start moving into the future. That has to be part and parcel of the development of many things in real estate or property development,” he said.
Globe continuously embarks on strategic partnerships with property developers to empower them with the right digital solutions.
One property developer that already saw the importance of collaboration early on is Franco Soberano, EVP and COO of Cebu Landmasters, Inc.
Soberano has been working with Globe hands-on for more than 10 years. He said discussions with Globe start before a project is completed.
“Before constructing our building, we already had a pipeline with Globe in the master planning, identifying the sizes of the telco areas, the cabling systems needed from our side and their side. We’re even taking that step further. We’re planning way ahead of time, more than 30-40 projects, but now we know how to enhance it,” he said.
Soberano said all of their properties are now equipped with Globe Broadband, with access points in the right places and connectivity and bandwidth at their best. “We have to be open-minded. What’s a little increase in costs when my buyers would be happy right now,” he added.
R.I.S.E. was led by Peter Maquera, SVP for Globe Business, Enterprise Group. Other speakers included Leechiu Property Consultants CEO David Leechiu, President and CEO of Robinsons Land Corporation Frederick Go, and Havitas Developments Chairman and Co-Founder Alejandro Manalac.
Globe supports the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, specifically UN SDG No. 9, which emphasizes the roles of infrastructure and innovation as crucial drivers of economic growth and development, and UN SDG No. 11, which places importance on building sustainable cities and communities. Globe is committed to upholding the UN Global Compact Principles and contributing to 10 UN SDGs.
To know more about Globe, visit www.globe.com.ph.