The growing popularity of social networking in the Philippines is driving a major network expansion by domestic carrier Globe Telecom.
Globe states that increased usage of social networking sites played a big part in its decision to begin extending the capacity of its 12,000 base stations and 6,500 cell sites, as demand for voice and data services in the country continue to grow.
The firm will invest a “significant amount” in expansion this year, to improve indoor and outdoor coverage, the Manila Bulletin reported
Globe isn’t shy about pumping cash into its network, with a CAPEX of $500 million (€377 million) in 2010.
“Data usage is expectedly much higher and this is true for [Metro Manila] and other regions across the country,” CEO Ernest Cu told the newspaper. “We will continue to build up our network in light of increasing mobile broadband traffic to support our product superiority, better customer experience, and cost efficiency.”
The telco, a joint venture between Ayala Corporation and Singapore Telecommunications, currently has more than 25 million mobile customers and one million broadband customers. It reported revenues in excess of 10 billion pesos (€172 million) in 3Q10.