Globe Telecom said its “aggressive” builds and network upgrades in 2020 is now benefitting the call, text and data services of about 32 million of its 89.3 million users.

In a statement on Tuesday, Globe said these upgrades were distributed across 1,098 cities and municipalities in Metro Manila and 80 provinces nationwide including Sulu, Dinagat Islands, Misamis Oriental, Lanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur, Tawi-Tawi, Apayao, Abra and Compostela Valley.

Quezon City, it said, received the greatest number of new sites with 99 new installations, followed by other cities and towns in Metro Manila, North Luzon and South Luzon.

Globe’s LTE or 4G network expansion has recently improved the data services of its customers in 19 provinces in Mindanao—notably Davao del Sur having 12 site upgrades; Basilan, Zamboanga Sibugay, and Sulu with two each; Tawi-Tawi and the rest of Mindanao with at least one site improvement each.

“LTE upgrades have also boosted the signal of 27 towns in Mindanao including Siasi and Pandami in Sulu, Albuera in Leyte, Initao in Misamis Oriental, Malapatan in Sarangani, Dangcagan and Malaybalay in Bukidnon to mention a few,” Globe said.

Joel Agustin, Globe senior vice president for program delivery, said the company’s network upgrades provide a “big boost” to communities adversely affected by the demands and restrictions of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.

“By making 4G/LTE as pervasive as possible our customers will have better data experience and faster connectivity. Our LTE upgrades will also improve the indoor voice experience of our customers as they start using VoLTE and VoWiFi,” Agustin said.

In response to the needs and demands of Filipino consumers amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, Globe laid out a three-pronged strategy to improve customer data and internet experience—aggressive cell site builds; upgrading its cell sites to 4G/LTE; and fast-tracking the deployment of fiber cables in Filipino homes nationwide. CURRENTPH