Telecommunications company Eastern Communications has finished its nationwide expansion plans for the year with the completion of the cable landing station in Boracay.
In a statement, Eastern said the Boracay landing station of the $150-million Philippine Domestic Submarine Cable Network (PDSCN) project, the longest undersea fiber cable network in the Philippines in collaboration with Globe and InfiniVan, has been completed.
The PDSCN project aims to improve both mobile and broadband connectivity through fiber internet in previously unserved areas across the country. This also supports the goal of the current administration to convert the Philippines into a more digitally-advanced nation through innovation, e-governance, and increased digital adoption among Filipinos.
“We wish to bring quality service to the business communities to help tourism emerge from the recent pandemic. Hopefully this will further fortify and cement Boracay as the destination of choice,” said Delfin Lopez, Eastern Communications’ Head of Network Planning, Engineering and Implementation Division.
The project started in July in Subic, Zambales and has already landed in a total of 20 sites. After Boracay, the 2,500-kilometer submarine fiber cable network will be deployed to other areas including Camiguin, Camarines Sur, Surigao City, and Zamboanga in 2023.
“The Philippines is practically being visited by almost 20 tropical cyclones a year, and this is a force of nature that we cannot control but can only prepare for. This is one of the reasons for planning this project. So we can have a redundant submarine cable network and achieve a reliable medium of communication, especially in the time for preparations and management of disasters,” said Lopez.