Globe Telecom has declared digital connectivity as the country’s fifth basic utility, standing alongside water, electricity, gas, and transportation amid rising demand for online services nationwide. According to Globe president and chief executive Carl Cruz, reliable internet access has become central to how Filipinos go about their daily lives, earn a living, pursue education, and secure their future. He noted that as connectivity takes on this essential role, the company’s duty extends beyond just building more networks to ensuring these systems are dependable, strong against disruptions, secure, and within reach for all, given how heavily people now rely on them.
Shifting consumer habits highlight this growing importance: data services made up 89 percent of Globe’s total mobile service earnings, up from 85 percent the previous year, as more customers move away from traditional voice calls and text messages toward internet-based tools and applications. In the first three months of 2026, the company counted roughly 67 million mobile subscribers, of whom over 39 million actively use mobile data. Each user now consumes an average of 16 gigabytes of data monthly, driven by higher use of video streaming platforms, social media, online games, digital payment services, and other web-based activities. Globe’s all-in-one mobile app GlobeOne also draws an average of 8 million users every month.
To match this rising need, Globe ramped up its infrastructure rollout in 2025, putting up over 1,500 new 5G stations and more than 115,000 fiber connections directly to homes, while bringing 4G coverage to 96.41 percent of the country’s population. Around 90 percent of the company’s budget for the year went toward building and upgrading data infrastructure such as 5G facilities, fiber networks, and modernized systems. Beyond standard mobile and fiber connections, Globe is also building a linked network ecosystem that combines subsea cables, satellite links, wireless optical technology, and data centers. This approach aims to boost service quality in cities, less developed towns, and remote island communities, while laying the groundwork for new technologies like artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and digital business.
The company added that its investment plans align closely with the government’s National Digital Connectivity Plan, which aims to build fast, safe, and affordable digital infrastructure to support public services, schools, medical facilities, trade, disaster response, and community safety. The national program also targets better internet access in isolated and disadvantaged regions, stronger cybersecurity and network stability, and more investments that will allow greater numbers of Filipinos to take part in the expanding digital economy. Globe confirmed it will keep pouring resources into expanding and modernizing its networks, recognizing that digital access has become a key driver of economic progress, smoother business operations, and inclusive growth for all Filipinos.
