GLOBE Telecom, Inc. and several property firms are pushing for wider adoption of built-in broadband connections in developments.
“Connectivity is a basic requirement of buyers that can be a differentiator for the property business. What we envision is when a customer steps into a property, he is ready to connect just like electricity and water are readily available. And it’s great we’ve gotten this far in terms of our partnerships, because, like Globe, they are also customer-centric. We are no longer just talking to a blank wall,” Globe President and CEO Ernest Cu said at the company’s Globe’s RISE to the Next Level event on July 11.
Globe has been pursuing innovative ways to provide connectivity as part of its commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Executives from ASEANA Holdings, Inc., Cebu Landmasters, Inc., Robinsons Land Corporation (RLC), and the Victor Consunji Development Corp. agreed that built-in connectivity makes good business sense.
“It’s not too late with property. It’s all about finding a base solution. I’ve never heard a ‘no’ from Globe. When I call and say we have a problem with a certain property, they’d say ‘okay we have something to address that,’” said John Richard Sotelo, RLC senior vice-president.
Delfin Angelo Wenceslao, CEO of DM Wenceslao Group which is developing Aseana City, said the company has worked with Globe to ensure space for telco property is allocated at the planning stage.
“Digital infrastructure should no longer be optional, it’s a necessity. Everything that helps us to achieve this, we are open to more collaboration in the future,” Mr. Wenceslao said.
Isabela Rep. Faustino A. Dy V said he will refile a bill that would require property firms to allot space in their developments for telco and other information and communication technology infrastructure.
“We will be refiling this in the 19th Congress. I want to stress that telco service is actually a utility and therefore a necessity similar to how power and water should be treated,” Mr. Dy V said at the same event.