The Philippines' Globe Telecom has announced it has uncovered eight cases involving the illegal use of signal repeaters or boosters as part of a campaign to address signal interference.
The company has illegal repeaters in seven cities and secured commitments from building owners to dismantle the repeaters.
Globe general counsel Atty Froilan Castelo said the company plans to “continue to intensify its drive against the use of illegal repeaters or signal boosters and report the same to [regulator] the NTC.”
The use of repeaters or signal boosters without a permit disrupts the flow of communications for operators' customers, and can result in dropped calls, garbled lines and weak signal, he said.
A law introduced in 2013 prohibits the sale, purchase, importation, possession or use of signal boosters operating on in the 800-MHz, 900-MHz, 1800-MHz, and-2100 MHz bands without prior permission from the NBTC. Violators face fines or even potential imprisonment.
Globe has been working since 2011 to address network interference caused by the use of the equipment, and escalated this campaign after the law was introduced.