MANILA, Philippines -- Globe Telecom will launch commercial Wimax (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) services beginning October this year, executives said during the company's investors' briefing Wednesday.

Lee Han Kheng, Globe's chief operating adviser, said Wimax will be rolled out in key cities, including Cebu and Metro Manila.

The company claims it is the first operator in the country to announce commercial services running on Wimax. Globe first announced Wimax trials with Intel as early as 2005.

Wimax will sit alongside Globe's existing wireless broadband access services, including 3G/HSDPA and wi-fi. The service enables PC users to access the Internet via Wimax, which provides wider coverage and better throughput than wi-fi.

Globe will be using customer premise equipment (CPEs) and base stations from Chinese equipment vendor Huawei.

"We were doing trials since the middle of last year and concluded first quarter this year. We have tested in densely populated cities," Kheng said in interview with reporters after the briefing.

Asked how much Globe is investing in Wimax, Kheng said the investment is "not that significant relative to 3G."

At present, Globe has more than 2,000 3G/HSDPA base stations nationwide, he added, but declined to reveal how many Wimax base stations have been deployed so far.

Meanwhile, Gil Genio, head of Globe's enterprise business group, expects capital expenditure on Wimax to be higher next year as the company expands its rollout.

"We will keep on expanding the service to cover as many urban areas possible," Genio said.

Asked about pricing, both executives said they do not expect Wimax to be priced higher than existing wireless broadband services such as 3G/HSDPA. Wimax is also positioned as an alternative to fixed broadband DSL service.

"Whether our customers move to 3G or Wimax, that's okay for us," Kheng said. "Wimax, though, is a purpose-built network and is located nearer to residential rather than commercial areas."