Globe Telecom Inc. said Tuesday it detected mobile service interference in more than 1,200 cell sites caused by illegal signal transmitters such as signal boosters, repeaters and radio frequency identification this year.
Globe said around 60 percent of the affected sites are in Metro Manila, with mobile customers within the affected sites’ area of coverage experiencing dropped calls, garbled lines, weak signal and slow browsing.
The telecom company said that as of end-September, it was able to identify, locate and shut down about 210 illegal repeaters and RFID systems causing interference to its cellular network.
The RFID systems found interfering with Globe Telecom’s network were found operating within the cellular frequency bands and outside the National Telecommunications Commission’s allocated frequency band for RFID.
Globe said this appeared to be just the tip of the iceberg as less than 10 percent of the sites affected were actually cleared of interference. It said the number of illegal repeaters and RFID systems appeared to be increasing as well.