BELOW is the official statement of Globe Telecom Inc. regarding the remarks made by President Rodrigo Duterte about the current state of telecommunications in the country in his State of the Nation Adress on Monday, July 27, 2020.

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We heed the call of the President to improve telco services. Service performance and increased consumer demand for data are the key reasons why we have been investing billions of dollars to upgrade and improve our network.

This year Globe has earmarked 1.2 billion US dollars in capex, majority of which goes to network and capacity builds. These substantial investments are paying off as we experience marked service improvements. Today, the Globe network is running at 4G/LTE. Last year, we launched 5G for Globe At Home and soon we will be launching mobile 5G services in the country. Globally, we are being cited for having improved internet experience. Only recently, independent mobile analytics Open Signal ranked the Philippines as the 4th most improved country in mobile video experience. The ranking was included in its State of Mobile Network Experience in 2020 report.

Although we have seen marked improvements, the industry is not without its challenges. The long drawn permitting process across LGUs, HOAs and national agencies including the DOH and CAAP have hampered cellsite builds and laying down of fiber to homes. We express our optimism that the recently signed Joint Memorandum Circular 01s.2020 spearheaded by the DICT with other national agencies to fast track builds of telco towers will finally lead the way to a more robust connectivity in the country and provide internet services to every Filipino.

During this time of the pandemic, Globe has actively supported public and private hospitals, quarantine facilities, and frontliners. We are working with the Department of Education to assist the sector through low cost data plans and devices as well as teacher training, online platforms and mental health support. Globe was able to provide over P1.3 billion in combined services and assistance package for COVID-19 benefitting customers through services and promos, monetary and in-kind donations. (PR)