PLDT expands fiber optic network

MANILA, Philippines - Smart Communications Inc., a unit of dominant carrier Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT), has adopted an overlapping umbrella network coverage strategy as part of efforts to fortify its network amid the series of strong typhoons visiting the Philippines.

PLDT and Smart technology head Rolando Peña said Smart has redesigned its cell towers to withstand stronger winds as well as deployed super-sized base stations with back-up power systems to cover wider areas.

Peña said Smart has been reinforcing its network infrastructure and strengthening its disaster response strategies to be able to provide vital communication services even during extreme weather disturbances.

He explained that Smart also resorted to building more elevated equipment shelters as flood defense. “We know that a simple call, text or online communication could equate to relief or assistance for affected individuals,” Peña said.

He said in a recent conference hosted by the Partnerships for Disaster and Climate Resilience that the strategy has been adopted in heavily populated areas so subscribers would have continuous signal even if some base stations go down.

If a base station goes down temporarily, he explained that nearby base stations have the capability to compensate for and boost signal so that service disruption experienced by subscribers is kept to minimum.

The conference, spearheaded by the Carlos P. Romulo Foundation, gathered government officials, business leaders, academic experts and heads of aid agencies to explore new ways of building resilient communities.

Peña said that Smart took off from its experience during Typhoon Yolanda, whose record-strong winds toppled power lines, knocked down buildings and flattened entire villages, claiming over 6,000 lives.

“Resiliency has been always part of our network design but after Typhoon Yolanda, we looked into ways to further improve and adopt. We mapped out critical areas around the country and started reconfiguring our facilities for even greater geographic redundancy - which meant setting up more robust fallback systems so that we continue to provide affected areas with voice, text and data services,” Peña said.