Globe laments slow process in cell site deployment

MANILA, Philippines — Globe Telecom said putting up cell sites in the country continues to be the telecommunication industry’s single biggest challenge at present.

It said setting up more telecom infrastructure continues to be challenging, hampered by lengthy permit applications and some uncooperative stakeholders.

“Consumer demand for mobile data is growing at an explosive rate. This means more and more cellular towers have to be deployed to keep up with the demand. But deployment is only the final step to a potentially long, costly site acquisition process,” Globe chief technology and information officer Gil Genio said.

The Ayala-led firm said local government units (LGUs) impose their own requirements, slowing down the deployment of cell sites in the absence of regulations on the construction of passive telecommunications infrastructure.

Aside from LGU permits, Globe said homeowner associations (HOAs), exclusive subdivisions and building administrators also impose certain guidelines and requirements based on Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board Resolution No. R-626 issued in 1998.

From negotiations and documentation of prospective cell site location to securing structural permits and approvals, Globe estimates an average of eight months and over 25 permits before it can build one cellular tower.

In addition, Globe said several exclusive villages and HOAs in the Philippines refuse to have network-boosting cell sites deployed in their vicinity because of alleged health risk linked with exposure to radiation emitted from cell sites, which it has refuted.

“In a bid to bring the Philippines closer to first-world internet connectivity, Globe continues to push for cooperation among all stakeholders, from the public sector, down to the barangay level,  property developers, and homeowners,” the telco said.

With the challenges encountered in putting up cell sites in the country, Globe said the Philippines is one of the Asian countries at present with the lowest cell site density, forcing it to serve more internet users per cell site compared to most of its neighbors.

Citing latest data from TowerXchange and We Are Social, Globe said user-per-cell site density in the Philippines is now about 4,036, based on estimates of 16,600 total cell sites against internet users of around 67 million as of the first quarter.