A local official in Sta. Cruz, Zambales says fast, reliable and steady access to the internet has made it possible for his constituents to cope with the economic and social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Vice Mayor Kristan Rommel Misola says the presence of new Globe cell sites proved to be the push and support they needed to deal with the challenges of the new normal and for their municipality to remain relevant and competitive.
“Sa pagdami kasi ng mga cell site nagkaroon ng mas magandang opportunity ang mga tao lalo na sa business. Yung social media, yun online selling at yung communication ng mga information sa update sa pandemya at kung ano ang nangyayari sa ating bayan at bansa ay nakatulong ng malaki, (Additional cell sites give good opportunity to the people especially those who have business. Social media, online selling and communication of updates on the pandemic and what’s happening in our country help us a lot)” Misola explains.
Misola adds Sta. Cruz’s move to support Globe’s network expansion proved to be the right decision especially now that connectivity has become an essential need, not only in their municipality but in the whole country as well.
A stable internet connection enabled his people to remain connected, updated and competitive despite its location. For small municipalities to keep pace with the more advanced ones, they need to invest and have a telecommunication infrastructure.
Globe recently installed a new tower in Sta. Cruz.
“Napakalaking tulong ng mga cell site lalo sa mga negosyante at mga maliliit na mga entrepreneur. Kung wala social media, tiyak mahihirapan silang mailatag o maipakita sa lahat ang kanilang mga produkto. Kung wala mga cell site paano nila magagawa ito? Napakahirap kung walang signal o cell site dito sa bayan (The cell sites help us a lot especially businessmen and small entrepreneurs. If social media doens’t exist, we are pretty sure that our businessmen will have a hard time promoting their products and goods. If there are no cell sites to give us signal, they can’t sell their products),” Misola adds.
Misola believes that if more municipalities will be given reliable “signal”, they can reach more prospective customers or patrons. This will somehow even the playing field for small towns or municipalities. And to do this, local government units need to be more open and supportive of letting in telecom companies, allowing them to build more cell towers or new technology such as fiber optics to give customers better services.
He explained that by doing so, these efforts will benefit further not only Sta. Cruz but the rest of Zambales as well. Misola, however, cautioned his constituents not to take for granted the opportunities given to them. “Gamitin po natin ng wasto ang social media, gamitin natin nang wasto ang internet at gamitin natin ng wasto ang signal na binibigay ng mga kumpanya at ng gobyerno (I urge everyone to be more responsible in using social media and in using the internet. We should properly use the connectivity given to us by the telcos and the government),” he says.
Aside from Sta. Cruz, Zambales, Globe is eyeing to install at least 2,000 new cell towers in key locations all over the country this year.
According to the latest Ookla® data, Globe has a better mobile consistency score than competition in several regions including the Cordillera Autonomous Region, Ilocos and Cagayan Valley. In fact, Globe’s regional mobile Consistency Score™ registered improvements in 16 out of 17 regions, comparing Q4 2020 to Q3 2020 results.
Globe champions the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDG), specifically UN SDG No. 9 which recognizes the importance of infrastructure and innovation as crucial drivers of economic growth and development. Globe has vowed to uphold the 10 United Nations Global Compact principles and 10 UN SDGs.
