PLDT completes another phase of digital fiber optic expansion

MANILA, Philippines - Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) has completed another phase of its digital fiber optic Network (DFON) expansion program with the recent activation of an additional 320 gigabits per second (Gbpsg) across six network loops nationwide.

PLDT officials said this will serve the rising demand for bandwidth as more customers increase their usage of broadband Internet and multimedia services.  

This recent expansion project increased the operating capacity of PLDT’s DFON to more than 1,000 Gbps at a total cost of about P600 million.

PLDT has also embarked on a P2.6-billion DFON network fortification program through the establishment of loops within the loops to enhance network resiliency not only to protect the existing businesses of PLDT but also to drive new businesses nationwide.  

To date, PLDT has completed the third fiber optic cable leg to Baguio while the 1,220-kilometer third fiber optic cable leg between Lucena and Cebu traversing through Bicol, Masbate, Panay and Negros islands is expected to be completed by the middle of this year.

“We are adding capacity to serve the fast-growing needs of our customers for bandwidth. We are improving resiliency to ensure uninterrupted service, and adding density so that the network will be able to serve more communities in its footprint,” PLDT president and CEO Napoleon Nazareno said.

He pointed out that these projects will spur growth in local economies by making these locations more attractive investment areas, especially for business process outsourcing (BPO) locators. ”Moreover, this will expand broadband coverage so that more Filipinos, including those in rural areas, can connect to the world through the Internet,” Nazareno added.

PLDT customer service and marketing group head and SVP Eric Alberto noted that the completion of the latest DFON expansion program will strengthen PLDT’s leadership in the increasingly competitive broadband market.

“Our superior backbone network will enable us to offer our customers the best possible user experience of broadband, particularly in such high-bandwidth services such as video and multimedia,” Alberto said.

He added that PLDT’s fiber optic transport network is augmented by the nationwide terrestrial microwave backbone being operated by PLDT’s wholly-owned subsidiary Smart Communications.

With a total capacity of more than 120 Gbps, Smart’s microwave network is utilized to reach remote areas such as Tawi-Tawi in the south to Batanes in the north.  On the west side, it reaches Palawan from Batangas in Luzon and from Panay Island in Visayas.

Aside from serving as an aggregate node to carry traffic to the nearest fiber-optic node, microwave radios are also used as alternate routes for the critical circuits passing through the major fiber-optic networks. Major backbone areas with both high capacity fiber optics and high capacity microwave network covers Regions 1 and 2, Baguio to Bulacan, Bicol Region, Panay to Negros to Cebu islands, Zamboanga to Ozamis and Cagayan de Oro to Davao up to Gen. Santos City.

These microwave networks complement the higher capacity fiber-optic networks and are vital in delivering reliable Smart services across the country, officials noted.