Globe says on track to hit LTE coverage target

GLOBE Telecom, Inc. said it is moving closer to reaching its target of deploying long-term evolution (LTE) services to 95% of cities and municipalities in the country by end-2018.
In a statement on Tuesday, the telco company said it has established 1,752 new LTE sites all over the country over the January to June period, bringing the number of LTE stations nationwide to 12,000.
The new LTE sites carry frequency bands of 700 megahertz (MHz) and 2600 MHz.
“We are on course to fulfill our commitment of deploying LTE services to 95 percent of municipalities nationwide by the end of 2018,” Globe Senior Vice President for Program Governance Joel R. Agustin said in the statement.
The Ayala-led telco giant noted its customers’ continued use of streaming services is spurring demand for mobile data. Globe said mobile data traffic grew 40% to 390 Petabytes in the first six months of 2018 compared to 280 Petabytes during the same period last year.
Globe saw its net income for the first half of the year rise 21% to P9.8 billion, fueled by higher revenues driven by strong demand for data. — Denise A. Valdez