Globe wants telco-friendly rules in Nat’l Building Code review
Globe Telecom Inc. has urged the government to take connectivity into account as it reviews the decades-old National Building Code, particularly by setting standards that would make it easier for telecommunications companies to deploy network infrastructure.
This comes after Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon ordered last April a comprehensive review of the nearly five-decade-old code to align it with modern engineering standards, urban development trends and climate-related risks.
In a statement over the weekend, the Ayala-backed telco said it was high time to recognize connectivity as a “fifth utility” alongside electricity and water by requiring buildings to be “fiber-ready” from the outset.
“We support the government’s efforts to update the National Building Code and are optimistic that connectivity will be considered as a standard utility in how buildings are designed and constructed,” Globe president and CEO Carl Cruz said.
Globe said the existing National Building Code, or Presidential Decree No. 1096, no longer reflects “the realities of a digital-first society,” particularly since it was enacted in 1977 and last revised in 2005.
According to the company, outdated building standards have created bottlenecks for telecommunications providers, particularly when installing in-building internet infrastructure in residential and commercial developments.
Because these structures were not built with connectivity in mind, telcos are often forced to retrofit completed buildings or absorb additional lease and construction costs just to install fiber lines and in-building connectivity facilities.
New standards
As such, Globe said integrating connectivity considerations into building standards would allow future developments to include fiber-ready infrastructure, dedicated spaces for telecommunications equipment and more efficient in-building network systems.
This, in turn, could help speed up network rollouts and improve internet reliability, it added.
“Modernizing the code is an important step toward future-ready infrastructure,” said Joel Agustin, senior vice president for service planning and engineering at Globe. “Integrating connectivity considerations into building design will help accelerate network rollout, improve service quality, and support the country’s broader digital ambitions.”
Apart from Globe, consumer advocacy group CitizenWatch Philippines has also called for an overhaul of electronics permitting provisions under the National Building Code, which it argued were merely an “additional layer of cost, complexity and delay” for telco buildouts.
Electronics permits and inspection fees are imposed on communications infrastructure such as towers, broadcast facilities and antenna systems.
