Globe Telecom recently uncovered and resolved 8 cases of illegal use of illegal repeaters or signal boosters as the company continues to step up its campaign to address signal interference.
These illegal repeaters were found and confiscated in Marulas, Valenzuela City, Caloocan City, Quezon City, Tuguegarao City, Davao City and 2 sites in Makati City.
Following the discovery of the illegal equipment, Globe agents initiated separate discussions with building administrators and or owners concerned and they were able to secure their commitment to dismantle the illegal repeaters.
“The repeaters or signal boosters, without any permit from the National Telecommunications Commission, is illegal as such equipment hampers the flow of communication among our customers. Globe will continue to intensify its drive against the use of illegal repeaters or signal boosters and report the same to the NTC,” said Atty. Froilan Castelo, Globe General Counsel. Concerns emanating from the use of illegal repeaters hamper seamless connectivity, prompting Globe to launch a campaign to rid the network of signal interference and provide wonderful customer experience.
According to Castelo, the use signal booster without any NTC license causes network interference that result in mobile phone subscribers to experience dropped calls, garbled lines, and weak signal.
He emphasized the company’s campaign against signal interference is in support of the company’s recent network modernization program intended to provide a robust and reliable network for voice, text and data services.
In recent years, numerous incidence of interference had been noted particularly in the metropolitan Manila area. Illegal repeaters come in the form of indoor or outdoor antennas and wireless adapters which boost network coverage and signal by hogging bandwidth from a legitimate network infrastructure.
In 2013, the proliferation of signal interference prompted the NTC to issue Memorandum Order 01-02-2013, prohibiting the sale, purchase, importation, possession or use of signal boosters operating on the 800 megahertz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, and 2100 MHz frequency bands without the approval of the regulatory agency. Violation could entail penalties and even imprisonment.
