PLDT Inc. (including Smart Communications and Sun Cellular) announced Tuesday (1 December) that it aims to deploy an additional 2,000 cell sites in fiscal 2021, while augmenting its fibre-optic network infrastructure with new cabling in the Bicol region and in Samar province.
Updating the market on its current progress, PLDT noted that by November 2020 it had increased the number of 3G and 4G LTE base transceiver stations (BTS) ‘on air’ to more than 58,000, while also rolling out a further 313 5G BTS as it looks to accelerate plans to deploy the new technology on a commercial basis nationwide. In addition, it pointed out securing over 1,600 permits to build more cell sites since August when the Anti-Red Tape Authority ordered that telco tower permits be ‘expedited’.