PLDT allots P1 B for fiber optic network

MANILA, Philippines - Dominant carrier Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) is investing over P1 billion to expand its fiber optic cable network to nearly 100,000 kilometers this year.

PLDT president and chief executive officer Napoleon Nazareno said the company would roll out an additional 15,000 kilometers of new fiber optic cable facilities this year.

“We are further fortifying our fiber advantage which is critical to our ability to handle the expected explosion of data traffic in the coming years,” Nazareno said.

By the end of the first quarter, PLDT has expanded its fiber optic network to 85,000 kilometers.

The aggressive expansion of PLDT’s fiber optic network, Nazareno said, would continue this year.

Last year’s fiber expansion program covered the domestic fiber optic network (DFON) used for long haul applications, fiber-to-the-home (FTTH), fiber-in-the-loop (FITL), and other inter-office fibering systems. The FTTH project made PLDT’s high-speed internet services available to about two million homes in different parts of the country, such as Metro Manila, the regions of Central Luzon, Southern Tagalog, and the provinces of Panay, Negros Occidental, Cebu, and  Davao.

Early this year, PLDT has completed the installation of over 150 kilometers of submarine fiber optic cables that linked the  island  of  Bohol  to the major network centers in the Visayas and Mindanao areas, boosting the telco’s services in the fast-growing tourism and BPO hubs in  Central Philippines.

It has also accomplished the rollout of 620 kilometers state-of-the-art fiber optic inland and submarine cables that now connect tourist-rich Palawan province in  Western Philippines  to the PLDT network and to the rest of the country and the world.

In  Northern Luzon , PLDT is scheduled to achieve the strengthening of almost 600 kilometers of fiber this year.

For his part, PLDT Network Group head Rolando Peña said the fortification program would benefit the estimated 11 million subscribers of PLDT mobile subsidiaries Smart and Sun Cellular and around 450,000 customers of PLDT HOME, as well as enterprises in  Northern Luzon.

“The ongoing fortification program for our Northern Luzon DFON will make our network more resilient and less susceptible to fiber breaks that could result in the disruption of our services, the areas being vulnerable to fiber cuts due to typhoons, landslides, and public works diggings,” Nazareno said.

PLDT has raised its budget for capital expenditures to P32 billion instead of P29 billion this year as it intends to put up resilient base stations that could withstand strong winds.

The budget would also be used to attain a 100 percent 3G (Third Generation) coverage, build more long term evolution (LTE) sites, expand its fiber optic network to 90,000 kilometers from about 78,000 kilometers, a new international cable system, and additional investment in service delivery platforms and network intelligence.