MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines, with its strategic location, has the potential to become a convergence point for submarine cables, but this would require investing in high-value assets, according to telco giant PLDT Inc.
At the Archipelagic Governance for Subsea Cables Forum, PLDT sought procedural reforms and wider cooperation to make the Philippines an international gateway for fiber lines.
PLDT Global Corp. president and CEO Albert Villa-Real said the Philippines has the potential to become a transit point for subsea cables given its location in Asia-Pacific.
“The Philippines should not think of itself simply as the end point of these international cables. Our ambition should be to become a major digital crossroad of Asia-Pacific,” Villa-Real said.
However, achieving such a position requires the government to simplify the permitting process for cable deployment and repair works, Villa-Real said. He raised the urgency of coming up with a response protocol when fiber lines are cut.
Further, Villa-Real said the public and private sectors should invest in the network backbone that underwater cables need to run reliably and sustainably.
These assets include cloud ecosystems where applications are stored digitally; data centers where servers are hosted physically; underground lines that connect to households; among others.
Villa-Real underscored the importance of subsea cables nowadays, especially for the Philippines, an archipelago made up of more than 7,600 islands, which require fiber lines to go underwater.
PLDT first vice president for network design and engineering Arvin Siena also pointed out how difficult it is to protect subsea cables from damage. They are vulnerable to man-made and natural risks, such as earthquakes, fishing activities and ship anchoring.
Likewise, telcos hire specialized vessels for cable repairs, and the government requires multiple permits before they could enter local waters. Siena recognized that national security is important, but warned against extensive processes that could delay infrastructure works.
PLDT connects to some of the most critical subsea cables, such as the Apricot Cable System that runs across Asia-Pacific and the Jupiter Cable System that links to Japan and the United States.
Telcos rely on submarine cables to transmit information from one country to another, expediting data upload and download for faster connectivity.