MANILA, Philippines - Globe Telecom has launched its new international cable landing station in Ballesteros, Cagayan, the first of its kind in Region II-Cagayan Valley. It is Globe’s second landing station, after its Nasugbu, Batangas international cable station, which became operational in 2001.
Globe is the exclusive landing party in the Philippines to the TGN-Intra Asia Cable System, which it chose to locate in Ballesteros. This project, which marks a milestone for Globe, provides businesses operating in the Philippines with an alternative access around Asia and a more direct route to the US offering better connections.
It also marks a milestone for Balleste-ros (and Cagayan, in general), as this project makes the town a well-known gateway for international connectivity: Ballesteros has become one of the major access points for international traffic into and out of the Philippines.
Globe’s investment in this huge project will support the company’s broadband and Enterprise thrusts and address the growing demand for international bandwidth. The estimated cost to Globe is about $90 million, including the costs of capacity within Asia and the US, a new landing station and domestic backhaul.
Globe Carrier Services head Gil B. Genio said the project will help boost the country’s competitiveness as a preferred destination for off-shoring and outsourcing as Globe will be able to meet the demands of businesses for more bandwidth in Asia and faster connectivity.
The Globe Telecom international cable landing station in Ballesteros links the Philippines to Hong Kong and Singapore, with connectivity via the TGN Pacific network to Japan, Guam and the United States.
The Philippine-Japan segment of the TGN-Intra Asia was completed in December 2008 and it is now ready to serve business customers in the Philippines, especially business process outsourcing companies, providing increased cable diversity and further redundancy to them. Globe’s first wavelength has, in fact, been activated on this segment, with actual live traffic running on the said capacity.
Shown at the inauguration last March 12 are (from left) Globe Network Technical Group Transmission Network head Dennis R. Abella, Ballesteros Mayor Violeta V. Unite, Globe Carrier Services and Globe Business head Gil B. Genio, Cagayan Provincial Administrator Tito A. Perlas Jr., and Globe Carrier Services Group International Facilities Investments head Arlene I. Jallorina.