Globe to Deliver 5G in the Philippines by H2 2019

Filipino telco Globe says that it is on course to rollout 5G mobile network services in the country by the end of the second quarter of 2019.

According to a company release, Globe has taken a number of meetings with Huawei in Shanghai this week to discuss strategies for rolling out the next generation networks in the Southeast Asian nation.

“5G is an important building block for the Philippine economy’s competitiveness. This is the reason we are accelerating our efforts to deploy 5G so we can provide as many Filipinos as possible an access to the technology,” Globe Chief Technology and Information Officer Gil Genio said.

As the Philippines’ incumbent mobile network operators, Globe and PLDT have both come under fire in recent months over the speed with which they are prepared to innovate and rollout new services in the country. This frustration has Filipino President, Rodrigo Duterte, to repeatedly call for the formation of a third telco in the country – a task that is taking rather longer than Mr. Duterte had anticipated.

Globe is now seizing the initiative and investing in both 5G and 4G/LTE in the country to ensure that it can compete on an even keel with any new entrants to the market.

“5G will not operate as a standalone technology, at least not for the earliest use cases. How 4G/LTE integrates with 5G will determine the overall fixed wireless experience in the next few years,” Genio added. – Total Telecom