PhilTower says 250 telco towers now operational

LOCAL TOWER company PhilTower Consortium, Inc. said on Monday that the 250 towers it acquired from Globe Telecom, Inc. are now fully operational.

The towers are located in Visayas and Mindanao and are part of the 578 towers the tower company acquired in February.

“This is yet another big milestone for us of full operational handover of towers from Globe. PhilTower believes in its organizational pillars such as people, process, technology readiness and a faster way of asset management to achieve takeover in a short span of time,” said Devid Gubiani, chief executive officer of PhilTower.

“We look forward to extending further operational savings to Globe from the establishment of the 24/7 operational capability and distributed field operations teams in the challenging territories of Visayas and Mindanao.”

The first tranche is part of the 1,350 cell sites under a sale and leaseback deal signed by the two companies in September.

In an answer to an inquiry through e-mail, PhilTower said the remaining towers are targeted to be turned over by Feb. 9, 2024.

It also added that the full stand-alone operation of the first batch of 578 towers is targeted by Sept. 30.

In the five months since the delivery of the first 578 towers, the company has been able to establish two regional operational centers.

“The faster and smooth transitioning is achieved through setting up PhilTower’s transitioning project management office of key experts, internal workstreams, outsourcing of field activities, and management support for critical decision alignment,” said PhilTower Chief Operating Officer PT Pawar.

“We appreciate the valuable inputs and support of Globe teams during transitioning, handholding and now, start of stand-alone operation. PhilTower will ensure post-transitioning improvement of network availability,” he said.

Meanwhile, Globe said that it looks forward to operating PhilTower’s sites that it will acquire from the operator.

“We are happy to hear that the first batch of towers we turned over to PhilTower are now fully operational after just five months. This speaks of the smooth transition between the two companies. This level of efficiency is crucial in ensuring undisrupted services to our customers,” said Ernest L. Cu, president and chief executive officer of Globe. — Justine Irish D. Tabile