Globe says it hit target to roll out 1M fiber lines this year

MANILA, Philippines—Globe Telecom said it had reached a target to lay down one million fiber lines this year as demand for fixed-line internet surges during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a statement on Friday (Sept 17), Globe said the completion came “three months ahead of schedule” and will allow future subscribers to access faster internet speeds and stream better quality videos and webinars.

“All of our regional teams delivered big numbers especially in Luzon that helped reach our aspiration despite the continuing challenges of the pandemic,” Joel Agustin, Globe senior vice president for program delivery, network technical group, said in a statement.

“With rollouts in full swing, we expect to sustain the momentum until the end of the year,” he added.

Globe Telecom previously noted accelerating growth in its home broadband segment, partly driven by the prevailing COVID-19 lockdowns.

In the first semester of 2021, home broadband revenues jumped 16 percent to a record P14.5 billion.

Globe ended the period with 4.2 million broadband subscribes, up 47 percent, it said in a previous stock exchange filing. Of these, the company had 800,000 fixed-line subscribers.

The company is in the midst of upgrading its mobile and fixed-line networks, recently raising its full-year capital spending target to P76 billion from P70 billion.

From January to June, Globe recorded a core profit increase of 19 percent to P13.2 billion while total service revenues hit P75.5 billion, up 4 percent.

Mobile, which is Globe’s largest segment, saw revenues grow 1 percent to P52.6 billion on more internet usage and subscriber growth of 2 percent to 81.7 million.

TSB