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Smart
Communications Inc. is increasing its capital
expenditure (capex) to P10 billion this year as it adds
more cellular sites to expand its network coverage.
The
amount is roughly 40 percent of the PLDT (Philippine
Long Distance Telephone Co.) Group’s P25-billion capex
budget this year, the cellular firm said in a statement
Monday.
The
expansion will involve beefing up indoor coverage and
adding cell sites in more populated areas to ensure
seamless coverage up to fifth- class municipalities.
“Under the new plan, an additional 250 cell sites will
be put up for the fourth quarter alone. This will bring
the number of new cell sites to over 600 for 2007,” said
Smart network services division head Rolando G. Peña.
The
expansion is also part of the company’s efforts to
ensure seamless and widest coverage to its growing
subscriber base.
“With
our subscriber base currently exceeding 28 million and
continuing to grow at a fast pace, we would like to make
sure that the quality of our coverage remains superior,”
Peña said.
“This is
part of Smart’s commitment to provide access to wireless
communications services to all municipalities
nationwide. We also anticipate high traffic during the
Christmas season and we will further build up our
coverage even in Metro Manila,” Peña added.
By the
end of the year, the total number of GSM (global system
for mobile communications) cell sites and base stations
will exceed 6,700, covering 99 percent of the
population.
The new
cell sites will strengthen outdoor and indoor signal in
the provinces, in congested and densely populated areas
in Mega Manila and other cities, and in major economic
corridors and growth areas, said Peña.
As of
end-September 2007, Smart has 28.3 million subscribers
on its network, including Talk ‘N Text, the GSM brand of
subsidiary Pilipino Telephone Corp. Talk ‘N Text uses
Smart’s GSM network. |
