Dinagyang's 'Hala Bira!' heard around the world via Globe WiMAX

MANILA, Philippines - Dinagyang Festival, a world-renowned Philippine festival, attracts thousands of people from here and around the world every year to Iloilo City to celebrate this colorful festival and shout “Hala Bira!” and “Viva Señor Santo Niño” in honor of the Child Jesus.

This year, the festival is being experienced by millions of people all over the world via the high-speed Internet broadband connectivity of Globe WiMAX.

The Iloilo City government is partnering with Globe to provide Internet service for the duration of the festival via WiMAX, the high-speed mobile broadband Internet of Globe.

With the Globe WiMAX, thousands of people watching the Ati-Atihan contest are able to video stream it live or blog about it on the spot, so that millions of people around the world are able to experience the colorful parades and competitions, too.

The WiMAX connection is available until Feb. 3. This will be used for the text voting facility for the Iloilo Festival Queen and Hiyas ng Iloilo 2011 where Globe is a major sponsor.

WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) is a next-generation fixed wireless broadband technology that Globe launched 16 months ago to provide Filipino consumers with an affordable and reliable high-speed in-home Internet service in areas not covered by traditional wired Internet solutions and at speeds much faster than many other in-home broadband services.

Through WiMAX’s larger coverage and higher bandwidth performance, Internet connectivity has now become available even in rural areas.

The Globe WIMAX network is the first and largest mobile WIMAX network in Southeast Asia to date, covering nearly 60 provinces across the Philippines. The company has 12 WiMAX sites covering Iloilo City and neighboring areas.

“Globe is honored to partner with the city government and community of Iloilo City in celebrating the Dinagyang, a festival of thanksgiving for and a celebration in honor of Señor Santo Niño. This festival is a showcase of Ilonggo heritage and culture and we are proud that we able to show it to the whole world with the high-speed Internet connectivity of WiMAX,” says Ferdz de la Cruz, Globe head of consumer sales.

Globe is also expanding its 2G, 3G, and WiMAX networks in Iloilo to further increase its market share.