Globe's $700-M upgrade kicks off in Davao City

Globe Telecom's $700 million nationwide network upgrade has formally kicked off in Davao City. Peter Bithos, head of consumer division at Globe Telecom, announced the start of the network upgrade in this city in the presence of Vice Mayor Rodrigo Duterte and other local officials during a press conference at the Marco Polo hotel. Bithos said Globe's 4G mobile network rollout promises to deliver internet downloading speeds of about 6mbps (megabit per second) using broadband and mobile data on smartphone dongles. The executive likened the network upgrade to the railroad developments in the past connecting people via transportation to towns, cities, schools, homes and businesses. "We'll be rolling out 10,000 kilometers of fiber around the country. And that stretch is like from Manila to Australia," Bithos said. "Our goal is for each Filipino to have 3G." Bithos added that Globe's business is growing 20 percent faster in Davao City. Meanhwile, Duterte said that with the telecommunications development they expect the city to improve on its businesses, education and even employment since it can become an ideal destination of locators from the business process outsourcing sectors abroad. Only recently, no less than the Globe's president and chief executive officer Ernest Cu, assured that the network change-out to 4G will have no adverse impact on subscribers using older technology devices such as 2G mobile devices that uses mostly basic SMS and voice services.