Globe says cases of theft affecting its network facilities grew 26% in 2023

Ayala-led Globe Telecom Inc. on Sunday said that cases of theft affecting its network facilities climbed 26% in 2023.

The telecommunications firm said pilferage of its network assets—including the theft of cable lines, batteries, and electronics—increased to 3,887 last year from 3,069 in 2022.

Metro Manila accounted for the highest number of cases with 2,441 or 62.8% of the total, followed by Mindanao with 510,, Visayas with 472,, northern Luzon with 379,, and southern Luzon with 85.

Globe said these incidents, in turn, caused 1,153 service outages in affected communities.

“When our network facilities are compromised, it disrupts essential connectivity that people heavily rely on for day-to-day activities at work and in school, and for critical tasks such as emergency response,” Globe SVP and head of network planning and engineering Joel Agustin said in an emailed statement.

“Every outage caused by pilferage impacts not just the business but, more so, our customers,” he added.

Globe called on the public to alert the company and authorities of any suspicious activities, noting that buying or selling stolen property carries legal penalties such as fines and imprisonment.

Globe Telecom Inc. is set to spend $1 billion this year and another $1 billion in 2025, after the $1.3-billion capex it earmarked in 2023. Its purchase order (PO) issuances for the past year stood at $600 million or 36% of the average annual issuances in the past five years, enabling the firm to reduce its capex.

The company targets to grow its revenues by up to mid-single-digit levels this year. It reported a P162.3-billion all-time high consolidated service revenue in the past year, reflecting a 3% growth from P158.0 billion in 2022.

Core net income, excluding the impact of non-recurring charges and foreign exchange and mark-to-market charges, fell to P18.9 billion from P19.2 billion, while normalized core net income declined by 1%. — BM, GMA Integrated News