ICT, BPO sectors to benefit from new submarine cable

MANILA, Philippines - Globe Telecom Inc. said it expects the country’s information and communication technology (ICT) and business process outsourcing (BPO) industries to benefit from the newly launched $400 million Pan-Asian submarine cable system.

Globe Telecom chairman Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala said the South-East Asia Japan Cable (SJC) would improve the competitiveness of the Philippines.

“Globe’s participation in the SJC system will help with the overall competitiveness of the Philippines helping achieve goals of economic stability and position it at par with the most technology advanced countries in the world,” Zobel stressed.

The country’s domestic output, as measured by the gross domestic product (GDP), expanded 7.5 percent in the second quarter of the year, bringing to 7.6 percent the economic growth in the first half.

“Today’s inauguration of Globe SJC system could not have come at a better time as the Philippines is currently basking in an economic renaissance,” Zobel added.

Apart of the 36.1 million subscribers of Globe, Zobel pointed out that the IT and BPO sectors would benefit from the new cable system.

“One of the main beneficiaries of this system will be the IT and business process outsourcing industry which employs more than 700,000 Filipinos and contributing more than $25 billion in revenues,” he said.

No less than President Aquino attended the launching of the SJC system in the new P8-billion Globe Tower in Bonifacio Global City Friday evening.

Gil Genio, head of international and business markets at Globe, told reporters that the link-up of Globe with SJC marks a high point in the advancement of telecommunications in the Philippines and in South East Asia.

“The addition of SJC to the existing network of international submarine cable systems will address the increasing requirements for much higher bandwidth in the continent and the rest of the digitally-connected world. Its high-capacity systems also bolster the capabilities of Globe Telecom, particularly in telecommunications and Internet, making it the foremost telco provider in the Philippines,” Genio stressed.

Genio said the interconnection reinforces the dominance of Globe in the local telecommunications industry as it significantly bolsters the competitiveness of the Philippines as a prime destination for business investment.

“One of the main beneficiaries of Globe having SJC will be our local business process outsourcing and the outsourcing-offshoring sectors, currently regarded as the ‘sunshine industries’ of the Philippines,” he added.

He explained that the SJC system is a fitting complement to the telco’s landmark network modernization, with the rollout of fiber optic cables enabling a richer digital experience for its 36-million plus subscribers:

“The Philippines ranks high in Internet usage worldwide, propelled by the onslaught of smartphones, the rise of social media, and general Internet usage, with Globe as a key purveyor in this phenomenon,” he said.

He pointed out that the huge bandwidth of the SJC system would be able to meet the capacity needs of future applications and innovative solutions and at the same time spur the further development of information and communications technology in the region.

Spanning almost 9,000 kilometers, the submarine cable has one of the highest capacities in the world addressing bandwidth-intensive applications such as Internet TV, online games and enterprise data exchange. It could support simultaneous streaming of up to three million high-definition (HD) videos.

Genio said Globe Telecom chipped in $65 million to the submarine cable system together with other proponents including Brunei International Gateway Sendirian Berhad, China Mobile International Ltd., China Telecommunications Corp., China Telecom Global Limited, Donghwa Telecom Co. Ltd., Google, KDDI Corp., SingTel, PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia International, and TOT Public Co. Ltd.