Telecommunications companies (Telco) like the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT)-Smart and Globe Telecoms bared that they are in the process of scaling up the rollout of their network infrastructure and fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) service in an effort to help improve the internet connectivity here.
The plans for Bohol of the leading telcos in the country were revealed during the very first Interconnectivity Online Forum organized by the Provincial Government of Bohol on July 12, 2021.
It was revealed that the two telcos are eying to build a combined total of 54 cellular sites across the province by the end of 2021.
PLDT enterprise head Kent de la Calzada said his company plans to build 31 cellular sites in Bohol this year.
He added that the new cellular sites will be located at Tagbilaran and 20 other towns of the province.
The representative from PLDT said the new cellular sites will definitely provide better customer experience and better internet speed.
Right now, he revealed during the forum, PLDT-Smart already installed 5G cellular sites in at least 12 towns apart from existing 2G, 3G and 4G cellular sites.
On the other hand, Globe’s senior vice president Joey Agustin said his company is in the process of completing the rollout of 23 new cellular sites constructed across the province by the end of 2021.
In 2020, Globe built 10 new cellular sites in Bohol, according to Agustin.
Globe is also in the process of improving its FTTH service to bring faster internet connection into Boholano homes. The goal is to build 20,000 fiber lines by the end of this year.
Connectivity is one of the key concern areas of Gov. Arthur Yap’s administration as he has been in talks with the telcos since last year as part of the effort to improve internet speed and cellular signal availability.
The governor has indicated in the past the need for better connectivity as a means to help maintain peace and order, better delivery of lessons to students who are engaged in blended learning and to help economic growth outside the urban centers of the province.