Being one of the Asian countries with lowest cell site density,
the Philippines is forced to serve more internet users per cell site compared
to most of its neighbors. Setting up more telecommunications infrastructure
continues to be challenging in the country, hampered by lengthy permit
applications and some uncooperative stakeholders.
Latest data from TowerXchange and We Are Social showed that
user-per-cell site density in the Philippines is now about 4,036, based on
estimates of 16,600 total cell sites against internet users of around 67
million internet users as of first quarter of the year. This shows a stark
difference when compared to some of its neighboring countries like India,
Indonesia, China, and Vietnam.
India, with 1.459 million cell sites against 462 million
internet users, has a user-per-site density of 316. Indonesia, with over 91,700
cell sites against 132.7 million internet users, has a user-per-site density of
1,446. China, with 1.95 million cell sites against 751 million internet users,
has a user-per-site density of 384. While Vietnam, with 70,000 cell sites
against 64 million internet users, has a user-per-site density of 914.
The disproportionate number of cell sites versus internet users
in the Philippines is mainly attributed to difficulties in securing permits
from various local government units (LGUs), homeowner associations (HOAs), and
other stakeholders, causing considerable delay in the construction of such
facilities, Globe Chief Technology and Information Officer Gil Genio said.
For Globe Telecom, more cell sites are needed as its network saw
mobile data traffic soar by 49 percent to 641 Petabytes during the first nine
months of 2018, from 430 Petabytes recorded in the same period in 2017. As of
end September 2018, Globe clocked in 65.4 million mobile customers, the
majority of which are internet users. For instance, around 246,700 Globe active
customers in Cotabato City in Maguindanao are forced to share only 13 cell
sites. This shows the urgent need to build more towers in order to serve the
current data traffic that continuously grows exponentially over the past
months.
“Consumer demand for mobile data is growing at an explosive
rate. This means more and more cellular towers have to be deployed to keep up
with the demand. But deployment is only the final step to a potentially long,
costly site acquisition process,” Genio said.
Lengthy permits
To cater to the rising demand for data, Globe has been
accelerating the deployment of cell sites across the Philippines. This is part
of its initiative to continue building on its network capacities for better
quality of internet experience. But in the absence of regulations on the construction
of passive telecommunications infrastructure, LGUs impose their own
requirements, slowing down the deployment of cell sites.
Aside from LGU permits, HOAs, exclusive subdivisions, and
building administrators also impose certain guidelines and requirements based
on Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB) Resolution No. R-626 issued in
1998. From negotiations and documentation of prospective cell site location to
securing structural permits and approvals, Globe estimates an average of eight
months and over 25 permits before it can build one cellular tower.
Non-present health risks
Several exclusive villages and HOAs in the Philippines also
refuse to have network-boosting cell sites deployed in their vicinity because
of unfounded health risk linked with exposure to radiation emitted from cell
sites.
Global authorities in radiation safety, like Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) and World Health Organization (WHO), have affirmed that
proximity to cell sites does not cause any known health risks, contrary to what
many HOAs and exclusive villages in the country believe. Even the Department of
Health has taken all the necessary precautions in ensuring that the Philippine
standard of thermal emissions from local cell sites are at least four times
lower than what has been approved globally.
In a bid to bring the Philippines closer to first-world internet
connectivity, Globe continues to push for cooperation among all stakeholders,
from the public sector, down to the barangay level, property developers,
and homeowners. - PR
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