GLOBE Telecom, Inc. announced on Tuesday that it signed term loan facilities with Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) and Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. (Metrobank) for P3 billion and P10 billion, respectively.
The company will use the loans to finance its capital expenditures (capex), Globe said in a disclosure to the stock exchange.
“Globe invested a record level of capital expenditure of P43.3 billion in the first half of 2021 to improve its network infrastructure and internet connectivity, beating last year’s spending by 107%,” the company said.
“Majority or about 88% of the capex spending went to data network builds to address and elevate customer experience in this challenging time,” it added.
Globe raised its capital spending program for the year from P70 billion to P76 billion.
The telco aims to make high-speed connectivity accessible for all and usher the Philippines “closer to being a digital nation.”
It is currently upgrading its network from third generation (3G) to 4G LTE (long-term evolution)/5G.
The company also announced on Tuesday that it upgraded 265 sites in Cavite and Laguna to 4G LTE, which is the new standard of mobile data.
“These include sites in General Trias City, Dasmariñas City, Bacoor City, Naic, Cavite City, Trece Martires City, Carmona, Gen. Mariano Alvarez, Tanza and Rosario. Efforts are also underway to modernize other sites in Alfonso, Amadeo, Gen. E. Aguinaldo, Indang, Magallanes, Maragondon, Mendez, Tagaytay City, Silang, Talisay and Ternate,” it said.
“In Laguna, Globe has also modernized sites in Biñan, San Pedro and Sta. Rosa, Laguna to include one 5G tower,” the company added. — Arjay L. Balinbin