DAVAO CITY—Digital services provider PLDT Inc. is poised to complete this year its P1-billion investment in fiber-optic cable links that will boost the capacity and strengthen the resiliency of its network in Mindanao.
The cable link, which spans roughly 320 kilometers, directly connects the provinces of Agusan to Davao, passing through Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Davao del Norte and Davao del Sur, and aims to provide reliable connectivity to more homes and businesses in Mindanao.
“In line with the government’s thrust of accelerating economic growth in Mindanao, the fortified fiber-optic cable, which is part of PLDT’s Domestic Fiber Optic Network, will provide unrivaled communications services to our fixed and wireless customers, including homes and businesses in these provinces,” PLDT Chairman and CEO Manuel V. Pangilinan said.
The reinforced fiber network can provide reliable service even under disruptive conditions, such as typhoons and earthquakes.
“The underground fiber-optic cables that we are installing here are less susceptible to cuts caused by strong winds, falling trees and utility poles. With a more resilient and reliable connectivity in Mindanao, our customers in the area will be able to experience high-quality voice, data and multimedia services as they connect with their family, friends, and business associates in other parts of the country and the world,” Pangilinan said.
To further stimulate economic growth in southern Philippines, the telco leader has also recently completed three major information and communications technology projects in Davao, namely, PLDT’s fourth cable-landing station, a state-of-the-art Innovations Laboratory (Innolab)—the company’s seventh—and the PLDT Group’s eighth data center, the first in Mindanao.
PLDT Chief Revenue Officer Ernesto R. Alberto said the projects will greatly expand the telco’s network capacity and quality of services, which will benefit industries and consumers located in the Visayas and in Mindanao.
He added these will enable them to participate in the emerging “gigabit society”.
“We have accelerated the necessary investments that will help build and strengthen the regions’ enterprises, and enable them to become not just locally but globally competitive, armed with new digital tools and innovative solutions,” he said.
Alberto noted: “Additionally, consumer home subscribers in these regions will growingly enjoy broadband connectivity that would allow use of the Internet and all its contents with better and more reliable experience.”
PLDT has invested P300 billion, or roughly $6 billion, over the last 10 years to roll out the country’s most expansive network infrastructure. In 2016 it set aside P48 billion, or about $1 billion, for capital expenditures, a significant portion of which was allocated for the domestic fiber infrastructure.
In a recent development, PLDT has announced the expansion of its fiber-powered fixed line network by about 80 percent to 4.4 million homes passed by the end of 2017, making available ultra-fast Internet connection via its fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) service accessible to more families from the Ilocos provinces in the North to Zamboanga in the South. The FTTH service will be delivered through PLDT Home Fibr, the country’s most powerful broadband, that can deliver Internet speeds of up to 1 gigabit per second (Gbps), which allows browsing of multiple web sites, uploading of hundreds of photos and downloading of a full-length movie in just seconds.
Complementing its accelerated rollout of FTTH services, the company is starting to deploy hybrid fiber technologies that can deliver super-fast broadband service through regular phone lines in buildings and residences.
PLDT is utilizing the hybrid fiber technologies of KT Corp. called GiGa Wire and Huawei Technologies’ G fast that can provide data speeds of up to 600 Mbps to 700 Mbps per user.
Both technologies work by connecting buildings and dwellings with fiber-optic cables and using special equipment to enable the internal copper wiring of these structures to deliver fiber-like data speeds.
