Globe Telecom, Inc., commonly shortened as Globe, is a major provider of

telecommunication Telecommunication, often used in its plural form or abbreviated as telecom, is the transmission of information over a distance using electronic means, typically through cables, radio waves, or other communication technologies. These means of ...

s services in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. The company operates one of the largest mobile, fixed-line and broadband networks in the Philippines. As of November 2023, Globe has 54.7 million subscribers, making it the second largest network in terms of subscriber base. The company's principal shareholders are

Ayala Corporation Ayala Corporation (, formerly ''Ayala y Compañía''; ) is the publicly listed holding company for the diversified interests of the Ayala Group. Founded in the Philippines by Domingo Róxas and Antonio de Ayala during Spanish colonial rule, ...

and

Singtel Singapore Telecommunications Limited, trading as Singtel, is a Singaporean telecommunications conglomerate, the country's principal fixed-line operator and one of the four major mobile network operators operating in the country. Overview T ...

. It is listed on the

Philippine Stock Exchange The Philippine Stock Exchange, Inc. (; ) is the national stock exchange of the Philippines. The exchange was created in 1992 from the merger of the Manila Stock Exchange and the Makati Stock Exchange. Including previous forms, the exchange has ...

under the ticker symbol GLO. Globe offers commercial wireless services through its 2G, 3G, 3.5G

HSPA+ HSPA may refer to: * High Speed Packet Access, a mobile broadband technology * Hawaiian Sugar Planters' Association Education * High School Proficiency Assessment * Humphrey School of Public Affairs, an American public policy school * Hunte ...

, 4G

LTE LTE may refer to: Science and technology * LTE (telecommunication) (Long-Term Evolution), a mobile telephony standard ** LTE Advanced, an enhancement ** LTE Advanced Pro, a further enhancement * Compaq LTE, a line of laptop computers * Leukotrie ...

, and

LTE-A LTE Advanced, also named or recognized as LTE+, LTE-A or 4G+, is a 4G mobile Cellular network, cellular communication standard developed by 3GPP as a major enhancement of the LTE (telecommunication), Long Term Evolution (LTE) standard. Three tec ...

networks, with 5G currently being deployed in key areas in the Philippines. Its 5G coverage is available in over 3,000 locations all over the country, and nearly 100% of the population in the National Capital Region,

Davao City Davao City, officially the City of Davao, is a City of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Davao Region, Philippines. The city has a total land area of , making it the List of Philippine cities and municipalities ...

, and

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. In 2016, Globe introduced its ''Globe Lifestyle'' brand as a way to connect to its customers through fashion. It also launched two entertainment divisions:

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(formerly Globe Studios), which focuses on film and television production, and LiveMNL (formerly Globe Live), which focuses on live concerts and musical events.

History

On December 8, 1928, the

Philippine Legislature The Philippine Legislature was the legislature of the Philippines from 1907 to 1935, during the American colonial period, and predecessor of the current Congress of the Philippines. It was bicameral and the legislative branch of the Insular ...

passed Act No. 3495 granting the Robert Dollar Company (a corporation organized and existing under the laws of the

State of California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

), a franchise to operate wireless long-distance message services in the Philippines. Subsequently, the Legislature passed Act No. 4150 on November 28, 1934, to transfer the franchise and privileges of the Robert Dollar Company to Globe Wireless Limited, which was incorporated in the Philippines on January 15, 1935. In 1965, Globe Wireless Limited was merged with Mackay Radio & Telegraph Company and Philippine Press Wireless to form Globe-Mackay Cable and Radio Corporation ("Globe-Mackay"), with the transfer of Mackay's franchise to Globe Wireless Limited approved by the Congress through Republic Act No. 4491 enacted on June 19, 1965. By Republic Act No. 4630 enacted in the same date by the Congress, its franchise was further expanded to allow Globe-Mackay to operate international communications systems. In 1974, Ayala Corporation began its investing in Globe-Mackay. It offered its shares to the public on August 11, 1975, becoming the first telecommunications company in the country to do so. Globe-Mackay was granted a new franchise on December 24, 1980, by Batasang Pambansa, under Batas Pambansa Blg. 95, extending it for 50 years. In 1991, it merged with Clavecilla Radio Corporation, a domestic telecommunications pioneer, to form GMCR, Inc. The merger gave GMCR the capability to provide all forms of telecommunications to address the international and domestic requirements of its customers. The merger was also approved by the Congress through Republic Act No. 7229 enacted on March 19, 1992, which amended its franchise. In 1993, Globe partnered with Singapore Telecom, Inc. (STI), a wholly owned subsidiary of Singapore Telecommunications Limited ("Singtel"), after Ayala and STI signed a memorandum of understanding. On August 20, 1998, GMCR was renamed as Globe Telecom, Inc. In 2001, Globe acquired Isla Communications Company, Inc. ("Islacom"), in a joint venture setup with

Deutsche Telekom Deutsche Telekom AG (, ; often just Telekom, DTAG or DT; stylised as ·T·) is a partially state-owned German telecommunications company headquartered in Bonn and the largest telecommunications provider in Europe by revenue. It was formed in 199 ...

as foreign partner. It became its wholly-owned subsidiary effective on June 27, 2001. Deutsche Telekom eventually sold its share to Singtel. In 2003, the National Telecommunications Commission ("NTC") granted Globe's application to transfer its fixed-line business assets and subscribers to Islacom, pursuant to its strategy to integrate all of its fixed line services under the latter. Subsequently, Islacom was renamed as Innove Communications, Inc. In 2004, Globe invested in G-Xchange, Inc. ("GXI"), a wholly owned subsidiary, to handle the mobile payment and remittance service marketed under the

GCash GCash is a Philippine mobile payments service owned by Globe Fintech Innovations, Inc. (doing business as Mynt), and operated by its wholly-owned subsidiary, G-Xchange, Inc. Mynt is a joint venture between Ant Group, an affiliate company of th ...

brand using Globe Telecom's network as transport channel. GXI started commercial operations on October 16, 2004. In late 2019, the GCash brand was refreshed by global branding and design agenc
Serious Studio
That brand refresh was suggested by

Ant Financial Ant Group ( zh, s=蚂蚁集团, p=Mǎyǐ jítuán, t=), formerly known as Ant Financial, is an affiliate company of the Chinese conglomerate Alibaba Group. The group owns the world's largest mobile (digital) payment platform Alipay, which serves ...

, Globe's venture partner in GCash (by way of Mynt, GXI's successor company). In November 2004, Globe and seven other leading Asia-Pacific mobile operators ("JV Partners") signed an agreement ("JV agreement") to form Bridge Alliance. The joint venture company operates through a Singapore-incorporated company, Bridge Mobile Pte. Limited (BMPL) which serves as a commercial vehicle for the JV partners to build and establish a regional mobile infrastructure and common service platform to deliver different regional mobile services to their subscribers. The Bridge Alliance has a combined customer base of over 900 million subscribers among its partners in Asia Pacific, Middle East, Africa, Europe, and the Americas. In 2005, Innove was awarded by the

National Telecommunications Commission The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC; ) is the telecommunications regulator of the Philippines. It is an attached agency of the Department of Information and Communications Technology responsible for the supervision, adjudication ...

(NTC) with a nationwide franchise for its fixed line business, allowing it to operate a Local Exchange Carrier service nationwide and expand its network coverage. In December 2005, the NTC approved Globe Telecom's application for third generation ( 3G) radio frequency spectra to support the upgrade of its cellular mobile telephone system ("CMTS") network to be able to provide 3G services. Globe was assigned with 10-Megahertz (MHz) of the 3G radio frequency spectrum. On May 19, 2008, following the approval of the NTC, the subscribers contracts of Touch Mobile (TM) prepaid service were transferred from Innove to Globe, which now operates all wireless prepaid services using its integrated cellular networks. In August 2008, and to further grow its mobile data segment, Globe acquired 100% ownership of Entertainment Gateway Group ("EGG"), a leading mobile content provide in the Philippines. EGG Group is engaged in the development and creation of wireless products and services accessible through telephones or other forms of communication devices. It also provides internet and mobile value added services, information technology and technical services including software development and related services. EGGC was registered with the then Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) as a content provider. On May 15, 2014, EGGC changed its corporate name from Entertainment Gateway Group Corp. to Yondu, Inc. (Yondu). On October 30, 2008, Globe, the

Bank of the Philippine Islands The Bank of the Philippine Islands ('';'' '','' commonly known as BPI; ) is a universal bank in the Philippines. It is the oldest bank in both the Philippines and Southeast Asia. It is the fourth largest bank in terms of assets, the second lar ...

and

signed a memorandum of agreement to form a joint venture that would allow rural and low-income customers' access to financial products and services. In October 2009, the

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (; commonly abbreviated as BSP in both Filipino and English) is the central bank of the Philippines. It was established on January 3, 1949, and then re-established on July 3, 1993 pursuant to the provision of Re ...

(BSP) approved the sale and transfer by BPI of its shares of stock in Pilipinas Savings Bank, Inc. (PSBI), formalizing the creation of the venture. Globe Telecom's and BPI's ownership stakes in PSBI is at 40% each, while AC's shareholding is at 20%. The partners plan to transform PSBI (now called BPI Globe BanKO, Inc.) into the country's first mobile microfinance bank. The bank's initial focus will be on wholesale lending to other microfinance institutions but will eventually expand to include retail lending, deposit-taking, and micro-insurance. BPI Globe BanKO opened its first branch in Metro Manila in the first quarter of 2011 and now has 6 branches nationwide, over 2,000 partner outlets, 261,000 customers and over P2.4 billion in its wholesale loan portfolio. On November 25, 2008, Globe formed GTI Business Holdings, Inc. (GTIBH) primarily to act as an investment company. In March 2012, Globe launched Kickstart Ventures, Inc. (Kickstart) to help, support and develop the dynamic and growing community of technopreneurs in the Philippines. Kickstart is a business incubator that is focused on providing aspiring technopreneurs with the efficient environment and the necessary mechanisms to start their own business. Since its launch, Kickstart has 10 companies in its portfolio covering the digital media and technology, and web/mobile platform space. In May 2013, ABS-CBN Convergence, Inc. ("ABS-C", formerly Multimedia Telephony, Inc.) announced the launch of its mobile brand, ABS-CBNmobile. The launch of the new mobile brand is being supported through a network sharing agreement with Globe, wherein the latter provides network capacity and coverage to ABS-C on a nationwide basis. ABS-C formally launched the brand on November 26, 2013. In October 2013, following the court's approval of the Amended Rehabilitation Plan (jointly filed by Globe and BayanTel in May 2013), Globe acquired a 38% interest in BayanTel by converting BayanTel's unsustainable debt into common shares. This follows Globe Telecom's successful tender offer for close to 97% of BayanTel's outstanding indebtedness as of December 2012. As part of the amended rehab plan and pending regulatory approvals, Globe would further convert a portion of its sustainable debt into common shares of BayanTel, bringing up its stake to around 56%. In October 2014, Globe Telecom received a copy of the temporary restraining order (TRO) issued by the

Court of Appeals An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear a case upon appeal from a trial court or other lower tribunal. Appellat ...

stopping the National Telecommunications Commission's (NTC) proceedings in connection with the bid of Globe Telecom Inc. to take over Bayan Telecommunications Inc. (BayanTel). Despite the lapse of the Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) last December 9, 2014, the Court of Appeals has advised the NTC to refrain from conducting any proceedings in connection with the bid of Globe assume majority control of BayanTel. On June 3, 2014, Globe signed an agreement with Azalea Technology, Inc. and SCS Computer Systems, acquiring the entire ownership stake in Asticom. Asticom, a systems integrator and information technology services provider to domestic and international markets, is 49% owned by Azalea, a 100%-owned subsidiary of Ayala Corporation and 51% owned by SCS Computer Systems, a subsidiary of Singapore Telecom. On June 30, 2015, Globe incorporated Global Capital Venture Holdings, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary organized under the laws of the Philippines and formed for the purpose of venturing into strategic non-core business. On August 27, 2015, Globe Telecom, Inc. (Globe), Ayala Corporation (AC), and Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) signed an agreement to transfer full ownership of BPI Globe BanKO (BanKO) to BPI, one of the majority owners of the joint venture. In 2017, Globe Telecom's CEO, Ernest Cu was named the CEO of the year by the World Communication Awards 2017. In 2018, Globe Telecom was selected as the best workplace in Asia by Malaysia-based " Asia Corporate Excellence & Sustainability Awards (ACES).". and the proposal to extend the internet in Europe was made. On December 14, 2018,

Philippine President The president of the Philippines (, sometimes referred to as ) is the head of state, head of government and chief executive of the Philippines. The president leads the executive branch of the Philippine government and is the commander-in- ...

Rodrigo Duterte Rodrigo Roa Duterte (, ; born March 28, 1945) is a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 16th president of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022. He is the first Philippine president from Mindanao, and is the oldest person to assum ...

signed Republic Act No. 11151 which renewed Innove's legislative franchise for another 25 years. The law granted Innove a franchise to construct, establish, install, lease, co-use, purchase, operate and maintain all types of mobile and fixed wireless telecommunications, and use all the apparatus, conduits, appliances, receivers, transmitters, antennas, satellites and equipment necessary for the transmission/reception of data, messages, videos and signals, with the corresponding technological auxiliaries, facilities, distribution or relay stations, throughout the Philippines. On October 1, 2020, Globe Telecom launched GOMO PH, the country's first fully digital telco. In Opensignal's April report on internet speed contest,

Dito Telecommunity Dito Telecommunity Corporation (stylized as DITO), formerly known as Mindanao Islamic Telephone Company, Inc. or Mislatel, is a telecommunications company in the Philippines which is also engaged in the business of multimedia and information te ...

outplaced

Smart Communications Smart Communications Inc., commonly referred to as Smart, is a wholly owned wireless communications and digital services subsidiary of PLDT Inc., a telecommunications and digital services provider based in the Philippines. As of November ...

and Globe Telecom in the first quarter, with a

download In computer networks, download means to ''receive'' data from a remote system, typically a server such as a web server, an FTP server, an email server, or other similar systems. This contrasts with uploading, where data is ''sent to'' a remote ...

speed of 32

Mbps In telecommunications, data transfer rate is the average number of bits (bitrate), characters or symbols ( baudrate), or data blocks per unit time passing through a communication link in a data-transmission system. Common data rate units are mul ...

. It is also now the fastest operator for 5G, averaging 302.9 Mbit/s as against Smart's 143.3 Mbit/s. In the reliability experience of subscribers, it further scored 835 out of 1,000 to breaking Smart's 771 and Globe's 748.

Subscribers

In Q3 2016, Globe Telecom dislodged

as the largest telecommunications company it terms of subscriber base with 65.8 million subscribers, 200,000 more than its rival. As of December 2022, Globe's total mobile subscriber base reached 87.9 million. It is also the country's largest telecommunications company in terms of market capitalization. However, by virtue of SIM Registration Act and due to deactivation of unregistered Globe SIM cards, the number of subscribers went down to 48.4 million as of July 26, 2023. The company now becomes second to

in terms of subscriber base which has 50.0 million. At the end of a 5-day grace period, it again increased to 53,727,298 subscribers causing them to regain the title as the largest telecom company. Out of its total 86,746,672 subscribers or 61.94% of its total subscriber base prior, the company lost 33,019,374 SIM cards to deactivation. As of November 2023, Globe has about 54.7 million subscribers, making it the second largest network in terms of subscriber base.

Radio frequency summary

Ownership

Updated Shareholding Structure of Globe Telecom as of 31 March 2025: * While the Philippine Central Depository (PCD) is listed a major shareholder, it is more of a trustee-nominee for all shares lodged in the PCD system rather than a single owner/shareholder. Major beneficial shareholders (''i.e.'' those who own at least 5% of outstanding capital stock with voting rights) hidden, if any, under the PCD system are checked/identified and are disclosed with the Definitive Information Statement companies are submitting annually to the local bourse and

Securities and Exchange Commission The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street crash of 1929. Its primary purpose is to enforce laws against market m ...

https://www.pds.com.ph/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Disclosure-No.-345-2023-Public-Ownership-Report-as-of-December-31-2022.pdf

Subsidiaries

* 917Ventures – 100% ownership ** AdSpark Inc. ** Global Telehealth, Inc. (KonsultaMD) ** Inquiro – 49% ownership ** Mynt (formerly Globe Fintech Innovations, Inc.) – 45% ownership; co-owned with Ayala Group and

*** Fuse Lending – mobile financial solutions provider, marketed under the GLoan and GGives brands *** G-Xchange (GXI) – mobile payment and remittance service, marketed under the

brand ** Rappit (in partnership with Puregold) – 50% ownership. Formerly PureGo. ** Rush – 49% ownership * Asticom Technology, Inc. – 100% ownership *

Bayan Telecommunications Bayan Telecommunications Inc. (BayanTel) is a telecommunications company headquartered in Quezon City, Philippines serving areas in Metro Manila, Bicol and local exchange service areas in the Visayas and Mindanao regions combined, cover a popu ...

, Inc. (BayanTel) – 98.57% ownership * Flipside Publishing Services, Inc. (FPSI) – 40% ownership * GTI Business Holdings (GTI) – 100% ownership * Innove Communications, Inc. (Innove) – 100% ownership * Kickstart Ventures, Inc. (Kickstart) – 100% ownership * Kroma * Yondu (formerly Entertainment Gateway Group Corp.) – 100% ownership

Joint ventures

* ABS-CBN Convergence – 32% ownership *Bridge Mobile – 10% ownership *Cherry Mobile Prepaid * Vega Telecom – 50% ownership

Affiliates

*AF Payments, Inc. – 20% ownership

Mass media and entertainment

*Bethlehem Holdings Inc. (BHI) – a media investment firm through its group's funded retirement pension agency. ** Altimax Broadcasting Company (Altimax) – 86% ownership; co-owned with Velarde, Inc. (14%) ** Broadcast Enterprises and Affiliated Media (BEAM) – 100% ownership * Kroma Entertainment (formerly Sphere Entertainment) – a multi-platform innovative tradigital (traditional and digital) entertainment company launched on April 6, 2022, backed by 917Ventures Retirement Fund. **

(formerly Globe Studios) – film and entertainment production. **FreebieMNL – digital destination magazine targeting food and lifestyle. **LiveMNL (formerly Globe Live) – live events and activations production agency. **Now You Must Aspire (NYMA) – talent arm and management center. **Paradise Rising – in partnership with 88rising; music label and collective agency representing Filipino artists. ** Pinoy Interactive Entertainment (PIE) – co-owned with

ABS-CBN ABS-CBN is a leading Philippine media and content company. It serves as the flagship media brand of ABS-CBN Corporation, a subsidiary of Lopez Holdings Corporation. Once the country's largest free-to-air television network, ABS-CBN has since ...

and 917Ventures, in partnership with BEAM TV as one of the flagship property; real-time multi-format, multi-platform and multi-screen tradigital interactive entertainment channel launched on May 23, 2022. **Secret Menu – full service creative video production studio. ** Upstream – digital over-the-top platform and streaming media service. **Wonder – digital oriented magazine targeting pop culture and style.

Esports

Globe Telecom and MET Events organized the Philippine Pro Gaming League. In its first season, it only had 3 games ''

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'', ''

Tekken 7 is a 2015 fighting game developed and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. It is the seventh main and ninth overall installment in the ''Tekken'' series, and is the first in that series to be released for PC. ''Tekken 7'' was released to Am ...

'', and ''

Arena of Valor ''Arena of Valor'' (), formerly ''Strike of Kings'', is an international adaptation of '' Honor of Kings'' (), a multiplayer online battle arena developed by TiMi Studio Group and published by Level Infinite for Android, iOS and Nintendo Switc ...

'' with P800,000 prize pool. The second season increased the prize pool to P1.3-million, had 4 games: ''

League of Legends ''League of Legends'' (''LoL'', commonly referred to as ''League'', is a multiplayer online battle arena video game developed and published by Riot Games. Inspired by ''Defense of the Ancients'', a Mod (video games), custom map for ''Warcraf ...

'', ''

Rules of Survival Rule or ruling may refer to: Human activity * The exercise of political or personal control by someone with authority or power * Business rule, a rule pertaining to the structure or behavior internal to a business * School rule, a rule th ...