Evolution to 4G: Globe Urging Customers to Shift to LTE-Capable Devices

Amid the aggressive deployment of LTE sites using the 700 megahertz band (MHz), Globe Telecom is encouraging its mobile customers to shift to LTE-capable devices.

“As more and more customers are now using sophisticated mobile apps and cloud-based services, Globe continuously ramps up network investments to stay ahead of our customers’ bandwidth requirements. However, a significant number of our customers continue to be serviced by our 3G network. We strongly advise these customers to use LTE-capable devices so they can also experience better internet experience,” said Joel Agustin, Globe Senior Vice President for Program Governance, Network Technical Group. He added that customers shifting to LTE-powered devices should also use LTE SIM cards.

Agustin explained that the migration to LTE network spells a big difference in terms of customer experience as the network provides superior streaming of multimedia content even as they are on the go, noting Globe is the network of choice of smartphone users. He also stressed that the migration also supports the company’s initiative, launched last year, to improve the state of internet in the country by enhancing network capacities.

Globe Telecom has been aggressively using its spectrum resources that include the 700 MHz band which further bolstered the company’s network capacities. To date, the company deployed almost 800 LTE sites using the 700 MHz band. Majority of the company’s L700 sites were deployed mostly in Metro Manila and other highly-populated areas where majority of customers using LTE-based handsets are located.

Some of the most popular LTE-capable devices that support the 700 MHz band include Samsung’s Galaxy J7 Prime, J7, S7, A5, J5, J5 Prime, S7, Grand Prime, A7, A5, J2 Prime, J2, Note 4, Note 5, A9 Pro, A3, A8, S6 Edge, and J1 Ace; Motorola’s Moto G4 Plus, Moto Z, Moto G 4, and Moto Z Play; Apple’s iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 7, iPhone 6, iPhone 6s, iPhone SE, and iPhone 6 Plus; Huawei’s Mate 9, P9, Honor 6X, P9 lite, Mate 9 Pro, Mate 8, and P9 Plus; Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 and Xiaomi Mi Note 2; Oppo F1 and Oppo F1s; Sony’s Xperia XA, Xperia XZ, Xperia XA Ultra, Xperia X, Xperia Z5, Xperia Z3, Xperia M4 Aqua, Xperia Z5 Premium, Xperia X Compact, and XPeria E5; Asus’ Zenfone 3 Max ZC520TL, Zenfone 3 ZE552KL, Zenfone 3s Max ZC521TL, Zenfone 2 ZE551ML, and Zenfone 3 Max ZC553KL; Lenovo’s P2, HTC 10, HTC One, and HTC Desire 10 Pro; LG’s G5 and G4; and Google’s Pixel and Pixel XL; among others.

Aside from deploying 800 LTE 700 sites, the company also activated over 1200 additional LTE sites using the company’s additional spectrum allocation in the 2600 megahertz band. Agustin emphasized that Globe plans to deploy more LTE sites in 2017 using the company’s additional spectrum assets to further accelerate its network build and enable the company to stay ahead of growing consumer demands.