Globe is eyeing to equip more of its new cell site builds with carbon fiber tower solutions on rooftops due to the success of its maiden installation in Bolinao, Pangasinan which is the first build of its kind in the country.
Despite being near the sea, the carbon fiber solution installed in the Bolinao cell site has proven to be durable against rust and damages brought by natural calamities.
“Our initial deployment was a greenfield site in Bolinao, Pangasinan. The solution was installed near the sea to test its anti-corrosive characteristics. Despite being light, we were able to test it against the typhoons that passed the area last year and it was able to withstand them all, it is durable and stress-resistant. Moreover, it also provided the barangay around the area with connectivity during the pandemic and during inclement weather,” said Peter Tan, Globe Senior Vice President for Network Operations.
Aside from providing connectivity in the area, the Bolinao carbon fiber installation has complemented the company’s efforts to reduce its carbon footprint through use of fuel cell, lilon batteries, DC generator sets, solar power, Inverter ACUs and free-cooling systems.
This development is opening the possibility of Globe in applying the carbon fiber solutions in its future installations.
“We are developing solutions for roof top applications. Also in the pipeline is a tower in a box application where we can put up temporary structures to support temporary coverage requirements. Given that these kinds of towers are light and easy to move around, it is also cheaper when it comes to hauling costs and faster to deploy,” added Tan.
But like other solutions, carbon fiber towers also have their disadvantages and downsides. Foremost is its acquisition cost, which is higher, but its advantages on specific site situation requirements today merits its deployment.
“The cost of carbon tower acquisition is higher than traditional steel structures which mitigate the savings from hauling. However, a request to build a plant locally from the distributor is also in place to support our local requirements. Currently, the product is made in the US. Aside from import costs, tax duties and time considerations, a local production of carbon fiber materials will enable us to build more and deploy them anytime there is a need in our network rollouts,” said Tan.
Globe strongly supports the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) particularly UN SDG No. 9 that highlights the roles of infrastructure and innovation as crucial drivers of economic growth and development.
To know more about Globe, visit www.globe.com.ph.
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