Davao City first to experience Globe Telecom LTE network

Residents of Davao City will be the first in the country to feel the full effects of Globe Telecom’s multi-billion-peso network modernization.

The upgrade of Davao’s entire network, which is expected to lead to fewer dropped calls and faster Internet speeds, will serve as Globe’s test bed for the company’s nationwide network transformation.

“Davaoeños and their immediate neighbors, who comprise the most populous region in Mindanao, are now more empowered to enjoy vastly-improved services, enabling them with much improved call quality, instantaneous text messaging capabilities, as well as richer, fuller web browsing experience,” Globe said in a statement Friday.

The Davao region broke ground in the rollout of over 10,000 kilometers of fiber optic cable supporting the activation of its 4G long-term evolution (LTE) system. The company said it expects to improve its network traffic management to accommodate and protect more voice, text and data transmissions.

The facility modernization will also significantly enhance its 3G footprint in more Mindanao towns and municipalities, translating to more stable 3G signals for customers.

The upgrades in Davao would form a significant part of the company’s $790 million network modernization and IT transformation, Globe president Ernest Cu said.

This is being done to allow the telco, which has the second most number of subscribers in the country, to keep up with the exponential growth in network traffic driven by the popularity of Internet-enabled smart phones and other mobile devices.

“It was opportune for the network to pilot-test in this major region in Mindanao since it had a vast number of potential subscribers, and the demand for its services had incrementally increased over the years—both of which are now being served by the new network in place,” Cu said.

He said Davao subscribers could now make calls with unparalleled clarity, receive text messages more promptly, and perform faster surfing and downloading.

Globe’s main rival Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) is likewise upgrading its own network. The company earmarked P67 billion to spend for network upgrades.

“The network build of Globe in Davao and its nearby areas would result in better mobile coverage, increased data speeds and better network reliability in that part of the country,” Globe Telecom chief technical adviser Robert Tan said.

“In terms of service quality after the upgrade, our call set-up rate improved dramatically. Now, a call you make in Davao consistently gets connected even at first try,” he said.