As DICT eyes less permits for common towers, Globe wants to build more own towers in Q3

Even as the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) is eyeing to reduce the permits for common tower this year, Globe Telecom said it will build more cell sites of its own in different parts of the country in the next three months.

In a statement, the DICT said is eyeing lessen by 52% the number of required permits for common towers in compliance with its recently issued Common Tower Policy and with Republic Act 11032 or the Ease of Doing Business Act which seeks to streamline current systems and procedures of government services.

“Since last year, we have been working on streamlining the permitting for Independent Tower Companies (ITCs). We are looking into cutting down redundant or duplicitous permitting requirements for ITC’s to reduce the number by more than 50 percent, and at the same time, reduce the average processing days,” DICT assistant secretary for Digital Philippines Emmanuel Rey Caintic said.

The DICT said it is actively collaborating with the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) and other government agencies in ensuring streamlined permitting requirements and procedures for common towers.

A Joint Memorandum Circular for streamlining the issuance of permits is expected to be signed among the DICT, Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA), Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), and the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) within the next months.

Globe, however, said it set to start building its own cell sites in different parts of the country as part of its network expansion plans for the rest of the year. The major cell site builds will start in July covering several areas in Metro Manila, North and South Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

Globe said its customers in the areas in which the projects will be implemented are being advised in advance that they may experience temporary service disruptions such as loss of signal or Internet connectivity for at least an hour anytime during the day.

“In order to complete the installations of the cell sites and towers, our customers and the public in general may experience temporary disruptions in their call, text and mobile data services. We would like to assure our customers that we will send out advisories days before the service disruptions will happen so that they can fully prepare when the time comes,” Joel Agustin, Globe SVP for Program Development-Network Technical Group, said.

Affected customers will receive advisories through SMS or other available channels on the anticipated short interruptions.

The company said the ramp-up will help increase capacity in response to the challenge of growing demand for data and need for connectivity as the country adapts to the new normal.

Source: Newsbytes Philippines