Globe Telecom Inc. said it may raise capital spending this year to deploy network infrastructure nationwide as a part of its “aggressive” expansion to meet subscribers’ rising mobile and fixed-line data usage.
Globe president and chief executive Ernest Cu told reporters the company initially set the 2016 capital expenditures at $750 million to finance the rollout of long-term evolution networks and deploy fiber optic cables in 20,000 barangays.
He said the actual amount could be higher, if government agencies would issue the necessary permits on time.
Cu said the goal was to provide faster and more reliable Internet access to about 2 million homes nationwide by 2020.
He said the infrastructure buildup was expected to take five years and would extend network coverage to more areas that had no connection or spotty service.
Cu said the company also aimed to increase capacity by 70 percent for both mobile and wireline businesses.
“It is important for us to be aggressive because subscribers are coming our way. If we don’t deliver the right experience, they’re gonna move, so we need to satisfy their needs right? The network is the basic product. Without the network, there is nothing so we want to make sure our network superiority is maintained,” Cu said.
Globe’s mobile subscriber base reached 52.9 million as of end-2015, up by 20 percent from 44 million subscribers in 2014. Total broadband subscriber base stood at 4.3 million.
Cu said the capital expenditures would depend on the issuance of permits by government agencies. “We’ll see. Our limitation is not us. Our limitation is the permits, the right-of-way, the site acquisition, right? If we can get that, we’ll go as far as it takes to make the experience great for the Filipino public,” he said.
“But then again, we can’t do it alone. We need the help from local governments. We need the help from the national government and maybe even the lawmakers to ensure this becomes a priority for our country,” Cu said.
Globe was pushing for an open access law for telecom industry to expedite the deployment of broadband infrastructure and improve Internet speed in the country.
An open access law for the telco industry would expedite the issuance of all relevant permits for all telecommunications facilities at the local government level.
Cu earlier said telecom companies were required to secure several permits, with Globe alone having 500 cell sites waiting to be built at any given time.
Globe saw its net income jump 23 percent in 2015 to P16.5 billion from P13.4 billion it booked in 2014.
The growth in profit was supported by one-time gains coming from the sale of a 51-percent equity stake in Yondu Inc. and the acquisition of a 98.6-percent stake in Bayan Telecommunications Inc.
Globe’s core net income, which excludes the impact of non-recurring charges, including one-time gains and accelerated depreciation charges, foreign exchange and mark-to-market charges, also grew 4 percent to P15.1 billion from P14.5 billion in 2014.
Excluding Bayan’s results, Globe’s net income and core net income jumped 22 percent and 5 percent, respectively from 2014, the company said.
Globe said it recorded consolidated service revenues of P113.7 billion last year, or 15 percent higher than the previous record of P99 billion in 2014.