PLDT wireless subscribers enjoy faster Internet in Palawan

MANILA, Philippines - Wireless subscribers of dominant carrier Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) are benefitting from the completion of the P861-million state-of-the-art fiber optic cable project in  Palawan .

Orlando Vea, chief wireless advisor of Smart Communications Inc. and president of Digital Mobile  Philippines  (Digitel), said subscribers of Smart and Sun Cellular are enjoying faster mobile data service in  Palawan  following the deployment of an additional 620-kilometer fiber optic cable network.

“This network boost does not only help locals, it will also help tourists visiting the many attractions in  Palawan  to have a more enjoyable stay in the famous island-destination. This will hopefully help boost tourism and other businesses in the province,” Vea said. 

The P861-million cable project is part of PLDT’s aggressive nationwide expansion of its fiber optic network which now spans over 78,000 kilometers consisting of inland and submarine cables that from Puerto Princesa to Taytay in Palawan, and San Jose de Buenavista to Lapaz,  Iloilo City.

In 2004, Smart built the first microwave based backbone for Palawan which utilized microwave radio to transmit voice and data. This enabled Smart subscribers in the province to use multimedia messaging and mobile Internet on their wireless devices, aside from voice calls and text.

Before the microwave backbone was built, the province was connected via VSAT or Very Small Aperture Terminals which were more costly and had much less bandwidth.

Palawan City Tourism Officer Aileen Cynthia Amurao said Internet access is a service much valued by both local and foreign tourists.

“We are excited about this development because as you know social media helps a lot in promoting our local tourism. With this roll-out, we could now get free advertisement in an instant through the photos taken by our visitors, which they subsequently share via social media,” Amurao said.

She pointed out that  Palawan  receives around close to a million visitors a year of which about 40 percent are foreign tourists.

“We all know they have a high standard in terms of wireless technology, and now that Palawan has access to high-speed wireless data services, these tourists won’t think twice about coming back and recommending the place to their friends back home,” Amurao explains.

The fiber optic inland and submarine cable project connects the tourist-rich Palawan province in western  Philippines  to the rest of the country and the world.