Globe Telecom secured a PHP15 billion (US$263 million) loan from Metropolitan Bank & Trust Company to finance its network upgrade and debt refinancing.
Globe said in a statement it had invested PHP37.7 billion in capex in the first half of 2023 which was lower year-on-year by 25%, and consistent with the operator’s strategy to bring cash flow “back to more sustainable levels”.
Around 90% of capex spending was allocated to network deployment to meet rising consumer demand for connectivity services.
As of June, Globe built 542 new cell sites and upgraded 5,087 mobile sites to LTE. It also deployed 148,000 FTTH lines, which was lower than last year’s deployment to maximise the utilisation of its existing fibre inventory.
Globe added it had expanded its 5G network with its footprint now covering 97.44% of the National Capital Region and 91% of key cities Visayas and Mindanao.
Rival operator Dito Telecommunity also secured a loan recently to fund its network deployment.
