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Philippines operator believes monetisation of towers assets will boost connectivity in market as a whole
Globe Telecom on Friday announced that it has begin the process of separating out its towers business ahead of a full or partial sale.
The Philippines operator said that the move will enable it to go ahead with the spin-off of its towers assets once it gets the go-ahead from the SEC.
The telco noted that earlier this year it disclosed that it has begun talks with a number of third parties regarding the possible sale of towers.
While the move is doubtless about the monetisation of the towers assets, Globe is pitching the spin-off as a way of improving connectivity and competition in the Philippines.
The lack of cell towers "has long been identified as the greatest barrier to seamless mobile internet connectivity," it said. Creating a towers holding company will enable any player to lease tower access on non-discriminatory commercial terms, it explained.
The operator noted that the Philippines has one of the lowest tower densities in the world, with fewer than 20,000 towers for 100 million people. It believes the country requires around 50,000 additional towers to meet traffic growth.
"This initiative will help accelerate the deployment of more cellular towers in the Philippines and foster competition," said Globe Telecom CEO Ernest Cu.
"We remain open to collaborat[ing] with new and existing players in the interest of national development," he said.
