PLDT increases bandwidth capacity

MANILA, Philippines - Dominant carrier Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) has boosted its international bandwidth capacity to Hong Kong by more than half with the completion of the fiber optic cable extension project in the $400-million undersea Asia Submarine-cable Express (ASE) system.

PLDT president and chief executive officer Napoleon Nazareno said the ASE undersea cable network extension project would increase PLDT’s bandwidth capacity by 67 percent to 250Gbps (gigabits per second) from 150 Gbps of seamless connection to Hong Kong.

He added that the technology could also be upgraded as the demand for bandwidth increases or as needed.

“This extension project further strengthens our network link to Hong Kong, which follows the US as the next most important international point for enterprise, IP networking and Internet traffic. The project also gives our subscribers the fastest and most reliable connections to their loved ones in Hong Kong,” he said.

 PLDT’s share in the ASE investment amounts to approximately $55 million while other partners include Japan’s NTTCom, Malaysia’s Telekom Malaysia, and Singapore’s StarHub.

“Our partnership in the ASE cable system also significantly increases our network’s capacity in meeting the growing demand for bandwidth capacity with the increase of data-capable devices,” Nazareno stressed.

The addition of Hong Kong - a major international link for data traffic to and from the Philippines - completes the 7,800-kilometer ASE system. It spans across Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, and Hong Kong, and links the Philippines through PLDT’s new third landing station in Daet, Camarines Norte.

PLDT vice president and international network group head Genaro Sanchez said the ASE system could still be expanded to and is positioned to connect other Asian countries like China, Vietnam, and Indonesia.

Sanchez said the system also provides interconnection to other major cable systems connecting Europe, the Middle East, and the US.

“The ASE project is essential in addressing the fast growing demand for bandwidth as well as network resiliency of enterprises and consumers in the country. It is positioned, to support future bandwidth-intensive applications and next-generation technologies for the PLDT Group,” he said.