Globe Telecom hikes 2016 spending to over $1B

Chrisee Dela Paz

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Globe Telecom hikes 2016 spending to over $1B
Its board of directors approves additional capital expenditure of $300 million for network expansion

MANILA, Philippines – Globe Telecom Incorporated has increased its capital spending budget for the year to over $1 billion to finance the rollout of San Miguel Corporation’s frequencies nationwide.

The Ayala led-telco, which holds a market share of 47%, told the Philippine Stock Exchange on Thursday, October 20 that its board of directors approved new capital expenditure (CAPEX) of $300 million for network expansion.

This hiked its capital spending budget for 2016 to $1.5 billion, from an intial allocation of $750 million.

According to Globe, the additional CAPEX of $300 million will be used for mobile network expansion ($160 million), corporate data network ($50 million), and broadband network ($90 million). (READ: Amid regulatory probe, Globe powers 130 cell sites in Visayas, Mindanao)

Globe “is kick-starting an additional mobile capex program for more deployment of LTE services using the 700 megahertz (MHz) and 2600 MHz frequencies, increased 3G capacities and further expansion of mobile coverage,” the telco said in the disclosure.

“We are leveraging our additional 700 MHz and 2600 MHz spectrum by investing heavily on LTE to improve both mobile data and fixed wireless broadband,” Globe President and CEO Ernest Cu said in a statement.

From a product perspective, data has remained the telco’s catalyst for growth across all the product segments. (READ: Battle lines drawn over San Miguel telco buyout)

For the first half of 2016, Globe’s data-related revenues accounted for 50% of consolidated service revenues, up from 37% in the first half of 2015.

Total data revenues, which consist of mobile data, home broadband and corporate data services, reached P29.6 billion in the first 6 months of the year, up 48% from the P20 billion pesos reported last year.

Under the National Telecommunications Commission-approved co-use agreement, Globe committed to deploy about 4,500 multiband, multimode software defined radio base station equipment to 95% of total municipalities and cities in the Philippines.

Other than the 700 MHz, the co-use agreement also provided Globe with access to additional allocation in the 1800 MHz, 2300 MHz, and 2600 MHz bands.

This co-use agreement comes after Globe and PLDT Incorporated bought all of San Miguel’s telecommunications assets for P69.1 billion

The initial report for this transaction was rejected by the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC), which then led to a court battle.

Later on, the Court of Appeals ordered a temporary restraining order (TRO) against the PCC, stopping the commission’s comprehensive review of the deal. – Rappler.com

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