Globe to expand LTE coverage

MANILA, Philippines - Ayala-controlled Globe Telecom Inc. is expanding the coverage of its long term evolution (LTE) service by focusing on large and contiguous areas nationwide to provide ultrafast Internet service to its growing number of subscribers.

Peter Bithos, senior advisor for consumer business at Globe, said in a statement that the company adopted a different strategy that focuses on large and contiguous areas instead of sporadic areas.

“To ensure greater and more stable coverage, the Globe LTE rollout strategy focuses on large, contiguous areas, instead of sporadic distribution in the form of pocket activations or hotspots,” Bithos stressed.

LTE is a standard for wireless communication of high-speed data for mobile phones and other data devices such as tablets and USB modems. It is a next-generation mobile network technology that responds to the growing demand for mobile Internet bandwidth by providing download speeds of as much as 100 Mbps.

He pointed out that the Globe LTE network that uses a frequency of 1800MHz has quickly expanded to cover more areas nationwide after its launch last September.

Aside from Makati, Bithos said LTE coverage is now available in select areas in Manila, Pasig City, Quezon City, Taguig City, Muntinlupa, Mandaluyong, Cebu City, and Boracay.

Globe is set to complete its $700 million network modernization and transformation project within the first quarter of the year.

Globe unveiled its roster of LTE-enabled products and services in the last quarter of 2012. These include its 4G LTE broadband dongle Tattoo Black, the country’s first-ever LTE data roaming service, and its LTE-powered smartphone Huawei Ascend P1 LTE and ZTE T81 LTE under its suite of fully-customizable postpaid plans bundled with unlimited data for worry-free mobile browsing.

“Even with LTE, postpaid subscribers don’t need to incur additional fees or shift to a different or higher data plan just to enjoy the benefits of LTE. Globe is making LTE available to everyone on LTE-enabled devices regardless of their plan subscription,” he added.