PLDT completes network upgrade in Subic, Clark

MANILA, Philippines - Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) subsidiaries Clark Telecom and Subic Telecom have completed their P70-million network upgrade using next generation network (NGN) technologies and fiber optics to offer advanced converged voice, data and multimedia services.

In addition, PLDT ClarkTel will complete its P25-million 42-kilometer fiber optic network within Clark by September this year, as PLDT SubicTel has already completed laying down its P19-million 36-kilometer fiber optic cables.

PLDT ClarkTel’s fiber optic upgrade is on top of the P70-million network upgrade.

PLDT president and CEO Napoleon Nazareno said the shift to NGN is in line with their efforts to offer their customers high-capacity broadband data services via fixed lines. “This service best supports multimedia and video services that are increasingly being demanded by both residential and business customers.”

He pointed out that other benefits of the NGN upgrade are improved quality of service, faster provisioning and faster service restoration in case of network troubles.

Aside from the traditional voice services, the two companies can now offer a host of data services that include DSL, PLDT Watchpad, i-Gate, leased lines, On-Call, PLDT SNAP, PLDT VOX, Smart Bro, PLDT Shops.work, PLDT SWUP, WeRoam, PLDT Port, PLDT Guardian, Sweet Spots and FasTrack.

NGN is a broad term for a network architecture and technology that encompass voice, video and data communications. With NGN, all information is transmitted as packets of data, just like over the Internet. That means an NGN line is already a high capacity conduit that can offer traditional telephone services, broadband internet, Internet Protocol (IP) TV and video streaming.

PLDT ClarkTel now has 21 NGN nodes equipped with 6,336 ports, while PLDT SubicTel has 20 NGN nodes equipped with 5,688 ports.

The fiber optics component of the upgrade is part of PLDT’s domestic fiber optic network (DFON), the most extensive fiber optic network in the country. The technologies used for DFON include reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexing (ROADM), dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM), synchronous digital hierarchy (SDH) and multi service provisioning platform (MSPP).

Nazareno said this upgrade program capitalizes on PLDT’s DFON which now has a capacity of 1,200 gigabits per second (gbps), or double that of other networks.

“Last year, we completed our P3-billion digital fiber optic network expansion when we laid down an additional 2,000 kilometers of fiber optic cables in key cities around the country. Now we are able to equip our subsidiaries with the capacity and the robustness of a world-class network. Locators in Subic and Clark as well as residential customers can now enjoy the innovations that the PLDT Group offers,” he added.