Globe rolls out longest undersea fiber cable

MANILA, Philippines — Ayala-led Globe Telecom Inc. has started laying out the longest submarine fiber cable network in the Philippines, with the target of activating it by April 2023.

Globe yesterday announced that it has sent off state of the art vessel Cable Infinity, operated by Kokusai Cable Ship Co. Ltd., to drop the undersea fiber cable that will make up the Philippine Domestic Submarine Cable Network (PDSCN).

The PDSCN, a joint undertaking between Globe, data transmitter Eastern Communications and internet provider InfiniVAN, seeks to better broadband and mobile connectivity and hook up fiber to unserved areas across the country.

According to Globe, Cable Infinity will ship the fiber cables in areas covering the 2,500 kilometer PDSCN. It will land at several points across the Philippines, including Sorsogon, Masbate, Marinduque, Camiguin, Siargao, Boracay and Zamboanga.

Cable Infinity will engineer the undersea laying in 24 segments over the next nine months, with the goal of completing the expedition by April 2023. Afterward, Globe, Eastern Communications, and InfiniVAN will activate the fiber connections.

Globe vice president for strategic infrastructure investments Arlene Jallorina said the three firms would work together to address issues that may arise in building the PDSCN.

“We know there may be other challenges along the way. We hope we’ll be able to work through them quickly and very much solidly as a group. We are doing this so that our customers will get equitable access to connectivity, wherever they may be in the country,” Jallorina said.

Eastern Communications co-coordinator Vince Tempongko said the delivery of the PDSCN would improve internet access in every part of the country in line with the objective of the three firms to connect as many Filipinos as they can.

“Providing equitable access to mobile and internet connection in all parts of the Philippines has been our dream. And through this cooperation, we are finally at the cusp of realizing this goal,” Tempongko said.

InfiniVAN chief technology officer Alberto Espedido said it took Globe, Eastern Communications, and InfiniVAN two years of planning to launch the PDSCN. Although the cable laying is only the first step, he vowed that the project leads would coordinate their steps moving forward.

Last week, integrated telco PLDT Inc. activated the P7 billion Jupiter cable system to expand its international capacity to 60 terabits per second to the benefit of its subscribers.

PLDT plans to fire up two more undersea cable systems until 2024 to increase its data capacity and serve the growing demand for digital services.