PLDT to finish P1.3-B fiber optic network this yr

MANILA, Philippines - Dominant carrier Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) expects to complete a P1.3 billion fiber optic data transmission network underground project before the end of the year.

Rolando Peña, technology head of the PLDT Group, said the company is currently completing the below ground installation of the fiber optic link between Ilocos Norte and Tuguegarao in Cagayan Valley as part of the last leg of the multi-billion peso project.

Peña said the PLDT Group is putting fiber optic cables underground to eliminate the risk of fiber cuts after several powerful storms caused extensive damage to the company’s communications facilities over the past years.

“The more fiber we bury underground, the more robust our network will be in the face of the storms that have been hitting the country with growing strength,” he said.

He pointed out that the project would provide another loop in PLDT’s domestic fiber optic network (DFON) improving the network’s resiliency by adding an alternative route for communications traffic.

Peña explained that the PLDT DFON could be likened to a highway system where national roads connect provinces and provincial roads link up the towns and cities within each province.

“Our national data transmission network – which is like the national roads system – is now almost 100 percent underground. That’s one big reason we have been able to quickly restore services after catastrophic storms like Yolanda,” Pena said.

“Our provincial distribution network – which is like the system of provincial roads – is about 50 percent underground.  We hope to make that 100 percent underground by mid-2015,” he added.

PLDT president Napoleon Nazareno earlier said the company’s capital expenditures jumped 69 percent to P8.1 billion in the first half of the year.

“We see this as a necessary investment given how the country has been affected by recent typhoons.  Network resilience must start by protecting our core facilities and then putting our transport system underground,” Nazareno said.

For 2014, the PLDT Group has earmarked as much as P32 billion for its capital expenditures from P29 billion in the same period last year.

“We are thankful for the cooperation extended to us by local governments which have facilitated the grant of the necessary permits.  These LGUs realize that this project serves the interests of their constituents because this will make communications in their area more resilient,” Nazareno said.

PLDT’s DFON currently runs through over 88,000 kilometers of on-land and undersea fiber optic cables, and connects the Philippine archipelago through several cable landing stations strategically located in the country. It has a total capacity of 5.15 Tbps.

PLDT’s DFON consists of six major loops and four sub-tending loops with several third legs within the loops for greater resiliency.

Last month, the telco completed a new third leg between the Visayas and Mindanao regions running through the island of Bohol.  It has also launched a new fiber link to the Palawan island group.

“Through these expansion programs, we are able to bring voice and Internet services to more parts of the country.  But we also need to make the network more resilient through programs such as placing our fiber cables underground,” Peña said.