Globe Telecom expands LTE-TDD, LTE-FDD footprint in VisMin

MANILA, Philippines - Globe Telecom is expanding its LTE-TDD and LTE-FDD footprint in Visayas and Mindanao as it activated its first site in Lahug, Cebu City as part of an initiative to further expand the telecommunication provider’s mobile ultra-broadband infrastructure in central and southern provinces of the country.

The activation follows the signing of a partnership last Sept. 17 between Globe and Alcatel Lucent in Paris, France for the transformation of the telecommunication provider’s wireless network infrastructure in the Visayas and Mindanao regions, upgrading it from WiMax to LTE-TDD and LTE-FDD ultra broadband access technologies.

The signing of the partnership where Globe was represented by Ayala Corp president & COO Fernando Zobel de Ayala, was witnessed by Philippine President Benigno Aquino III and French President François Hollande. Alcatel CEO Michel Combes signed the partnership for the LTE-technology provider.

The rollout is part of Globe Telecom’s continuing adoption of more advanced technologies for better connectivity experience, higher network capacity, faster transmission speeds, addressing increasing demand for fast and reliable broadband service, said Globe president & CEO Ernest Cu.

“The activation of less than a week after we signed the partnership indicates the aggressive way we are going out to roll out LTE technologies moving forward onto the next year to further enhance mobile browsing experience of our customers,” said Cu, noting that the technology offers higher bandwidth and thus increases the speed of data transfer, provides lower latency and improves spectrum efficiency, which increases overall network capacity.

Cu emphasized that the project is particularly significant for the Visayas region which is still recovering from last year’s severe typhoon. This project also supports the Philippine government’s thrust to expand the reach of broadband internet services which has been emphasized as an area for national improvement.

Michel Combes, CEO of Alcatel-Lucent said, “This project not only highlights how our LTE-TDD technology is expanding, but also continues the strong momentum of mobile ultra-broadband access in the Asia-Pacific region. As a key provider of infrastructure for some of the largest LTE network deployments in the world, Alcatel-Lucent’s support for Globe Telecom’s network expansion program is a further milestone in our growing global leadership in mobile ultra-broadband access.”

Globe will deploy Alcatel-Lucent’s LTE Radio Access Network (RAN) in approximately 1,200 sites, along with a converged network management and network security system to manage and control the network equipment on an end-to-end basis.  The transformation of Globe Telecom’s existing WiMax network to state-of-the-art LTE–TDD and LTE-FDD technologies would help meet ever-increasing demand for high speed mobile Internet access in Visayas and Mindanao.