With over 40% of Filipinos still with no access to the Internet, Globe Telecom bares an ambitious plan to bring 90% of Filipinos online within the next few years.
At AWS re:Invent 2018 in Las Vegas, Globe Chief Information Officer Maria Aurora Sy-Manalang said that 40% of the current population of 107 million Filipinos don’t have access to the Internet. Furthermore, 80% of homes in the Philippines don’t have fixed broadband access and 10% of communities have no mobile coverage.
“Many Filipinos don’t have access to basic services, 70% are unbanked. There’s only one doctor for every 33,000 people in some rural areas and 40% don’t graduate from high school,” Sy-Manalang said. “While the internet has changed the lives of many around the world, it still needs to trickle down to the poorest of our population.”
Sy-Manalang believes that Globe Telecom, as the leading telecommunications company in the country, can play a major role in bringing Internet access to most Filipinos.
“Our vision goes beyond being number one in telecommunications, we believe that we can help build a Philippines where families dreams come true, businesses flourish… We want to uplift the lives of Filipinos by improving overall connectivity in our country… We see connectivity as key in addressing issues such as financial inclusion, healthcare, and education,” Sy-Manalang added.
Globe currently has 65 million mobile subscribers, and serves over 400,000 small and medium enterprises using its network on 1.2 million distributors and retailers.
Sy-Manalang revealed that Globe plans to provide 2 million homes with high-speed broadband Internet at minimum speeds of 50Mbps, and that the company aims to bring 90% of Filipinos online.
Along with its partners, Globe Telecom sees a “true digital future for the Philippines.”
“Together we are helping change our country and enable Filipinos to live a digital lifestyle,” Sy-Manalang concluded.
