ICT, BPO sectors to benefit from new submarine cable

MANILA, Philippines - Globe Telecom Inc. said it expects the country’s information and communication technology (ICT) and business process outsourcing (BPO) industries to benefit from the newly launched $400 million Pan-Asian submarine cable system.

Globe Telecom chairman Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala said the South-East Asia Japan Cable (SJC) would improve the competitiveness of the Philippines.

“Globe’s participation in the SJC system will help with the overall competitiveness of the Philippines helping achieve goals of economic stability and position it at par with the most technology advanced countries in the world,” Zobel stressed.

The country’s domestic output, as measured by the gross domestic product (GDP), expanded 7.5 percent in the second quarter of the year, bringing to 7.6 percent the economic growth in the first half.

“Today’s inauguration of Globe SJC system could not have come at a better time as the Philippines is currently basking in an economic renaissance,” Zobel added.

Apart of the 36.1 million subscribers of Globe, Zobel pointed out that the IT and BPO sectors would benefit from the new cable system.

“One of the main beneficiaries of this system will be the IT and business process outsourcing industry which employs more than 700,000 Filipinos and contributing more than $25 billion in revenues,” he said.

No less than President Aquino attended the launching of the SJC system in the new P8-billion Globe Tower in Bonifacio Global City Friday evening.

Gil Genio, head of international and business markets at Globe, told reporters that the link-up of Globe with SJC marks a high point in the advancement of telecommunications in the Philippines and in South East Asia.

“The addition of SJC to the existing network of international submarine cable systems will address the increasing requirements for much higher bandwidth in the continent and the rest of the digitally-connected world. Its high-capacity systems also bolster the capabilities of Globe Telecom, particularly in telecommunications and Internet, making it the foremost telco provider in the Philippines,” Genio stressed.

Genio said the interconnection reinforces the dominance of Globe in the local telecommunications industry as it significantly bolsters the competitiveness of the Philippines as a prime destination for business investment.

“One of the main beneficiaries of Globe having SJC will be our local business process outsourcing and the outsourcing-offshoring sectors, currently regarded as the ‘sunshine industries’ of the Philippines,” he added.

He explained that the SJC system is a fitting complement to the telco’s landmark network modernization, with the rollout of fiber optic cables enabling a richer digital experience for its 36-million plus subscribers:
“The Philippines ranks high in Internet usage worldwide, propelled by the onslaught of smartphones, the rise of social media, and general Internet usage, with Globe as a key purveyor in this phenomenon,” he said.

He pointed out that the huge bandwidth of the SJC system would be able to meet the capacity needs of future applications and innovative solutions and at the same time spur the further development of information and communications technology in the region.

Spanning almost 9,000 kilometers, the submarine cable has one of the highest capacities in the world addressing bandwidth-intensive applications such as Internet TV, online games and enterprise data exchange. It could support simultaneous streaming of up to three million high-definition (HD) videos.

Genio said Globe Telecom chipped in $65 million to the submarine cable system together with other proponents including Brunei International Gateway Sendirian Berhad, China Mobile International Ltd., China Telecommunications Corp., China Telecom Global Limited, Donghwa Telecom Co. Ltd., Google, KDDI Corp., SingTel, PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia International, and TOT Public Co. Ltd.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Globe Telecom taps Mizuho Bank for $40-M loan

MANILA -- Globe Telecom Inc. on Tuesday said it has borrowed $40 million for the prepayment of some of its debts.

In a disclosure, the telco said it signed a three-year $40-million term loan facility with Mizuho Bank Ltd.

"The proceeds of the loan will be used to prepay and refinance certain debts," Globe Telecom said.

Meanwhile, the firm has listed P7-billion worth of fixed-rate bonds on the Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corp.

The notes are made up of P4-billion worth of seven-year bonds due 2020 and P3-billion worth of 10-year bonds due 2023.

The firm in May said proceeds from the retail bonds will be used to fund capital expenditures and prepay debt.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Globe to complete Makati network modernization in 2 weeks

MANILA, Philippines - Globe Telecom Inc. subscribers in Makati are expected to have a better experience in using the network as improving cell sites in said city is foreseen to be completed in two weeks time.

"We are on track to completing Makati in two more weeks, then we move on further to the South," Gil Genio, Globe Head of International and Business Markets, said in a press briefing during the Globe Enterprise Innovation Forum.

The improvements are part of the telco's modernization program for its network for the country, which started in the first quarter of this year.

Globe Telecom expects this program to be completed next year, and Genio said the firm is on track this target as 70% of the work has been done at present.

source: abs-cbnnews.com

Globe Telecom to list bonds at PDEx

MANILA - Globe Telecom will list its retail bonds at the Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corp. on June 1.

In a statement, Globe said it signed up with PDEx for the listing of the telecom company's P10 billion retail bonds.

The telco recently raised P4.5 billion in five-year and P5.5 billion in seven-year fixed-rate bonds. Philippine Rating Services Corp. assigned its highest PRS Aaa.

“We look forward to listing our latest retail bond issue with the PDEx. This will allow our investors to enjoy increased liquidity and transparency as they are able to see the best market prices,” said Alberto M. De Larrazabal, Globe chief financial officer.

The telco aims to use the proceeds of its bond issuance to finance its ongoing network upgrade, which would require $790 million in the next five years, of which $640 million will be spent through 2013.

source: interaksyon.com

Telcos still charge P1 per text, defying government order

Smart Communications, Globe Telecom, and Sun Cellular were ordered by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to explain why they failed to lower the rate for short messaging service (SMS) to 80 centavos from P1 per text.

Glem Ecal of the NTC Public Information Office on Friday told GMA News Online that they have yet to verify if the networks already received the order, which was released on Dec. 12.

The telcos have 15 days to reply once they have received the NTC order.

[See also NTC to sue telcos for violating order to lower sms rates]

Globe maintained earlier this week that it has complied with the NTC order to reduce the SMS access charge, but a source told GMA News Online on Friday that its legal department declined to comment on the show-cause order "because it's sub judice."

Smart, Globe, and Sun informed the NTC last November that they will heed the commission's order earlier this year for the telcos to reduce the access or interconnection charge to P0.15 from P0.35.

The access charge is — among other components — part and parcel of the SMS rate, according to Globe.

NTC Deputy Commissioner Delilah Deles said last month "the new SMS access charge will take effect on their respective networks" on Nov. 30.

NTC's One-Stop Public Assistance Center said in an affidavit that they have received complaints from December 5 to 9 that the telcos were still charging P1 per text message.

After those complaints, a series of tests by the the NTC using prepaid mobile numbers from the three telcos established that the text message rates remain at P1 per SMS. — Bea Cupin/ Rose-An Dioquino/VS/HS, GMA News

source:gmanetwork.com

PLDT says Globe using Altimax frequencies 'illegally'

Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) said Wednesday competitor Globe Telecom Inc. (Globe) is illegally using the frequency of a company it acquired in 2009 for its WiMax broadband Internet service.

In a statement, PLDT head for regulatory and policy affairs lawyer Ray Espinosa called on the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to recall the frequencies of Altimax Broadcasting leased to Globe.

Under a 2000 provisional authority, Altimax was authorized to offer wireless broadcasting services similar to what wireless cable TV providers are offering the local market, PLDT pointed out.

"These frequencies of Altimax Broadcasting should be returned and be made available to interested parties," Espinosa said.

The revelation came during the NTC hearing on the PLDT-Digitel share-swap deal, where Engr. Emmanuel Estrada, Globe's head of network technologies strategy division, said that the company was using the frequencies for the deployment of its WiMax services in Luzon.

Espinosa cited the 2010 financial statement of Altimax, which said that it was leasing its frequencies to Globe subsidiary Innove for P70 million in 2009 and P90 million in 2010.

The PLDT official claimed that the provisional authority granted by the NTC to Altimax "does not allow the company to lease its frequencies without the approval of the Commission."

PLDT's statement come on the heels of allegations by Globe that Smart Telecommunications Inc. — PLDT’s mobile telecommunications arm — is hoarding frequencies with its strategic acquisition of telcos with assigned frequencies, the latest of which is its bid to buy Sun Cellular operator Digitel.

Globe, however, aside brushed the issue, saying PLDT is misleading the public and muddling the issues related to its Digital deal.

In a statement, Globe pointed out that the Altimax deal is "clearly above board" with the NTC aware of it.

Focus on legal issues

"This is old news that PLDT simply wants to resurrect in view of their existing issues with their merger with Digitel," said Atty. Froilan M. Castelo, head of Globe corporate and legal services group.

Castelo said PLDT should focus on the regulatory and legal upheavals before the authorities.

"Foremost of [such issues] is that they are a non-Filipino corporation operating as a public utility and entering into a multi-billion transaction vested with public interest," Castelo stressed.

The Supreme Court in June ruled that foreigners "unmistakably" control more than 64 percent of PLDT's common shares, after it defined the term "capital" found in the Constitution as referring only to common voting shares and not the total number of stocks issued by a company.

Thus, foreign investors accounted for 64.27 percent of PLDT’s common shares, well above the 40 percent constitutional limit.

While not yet final and executory, the SC decision was used by Globe in asking the NTC to stop the hearings on the PLDT-Digitel deal, which the industry regulator denied.

The high court has decided to set oral arguments on PLDT's ownership case before it issues a final ruling. — VS, GMA News


Source:gmanews.tv