PLDT to build landing stations for $80 million subsea cable system

MANILA, Philippines — Telco giant PLDT Inc. has secured regulatory approval to put up landing stations in Aurora and Davao that would serve as the terrestrial hubs for an $80 million underwater cable system.

PLDT is moving forward with its plan to embark on another subsea cable project after obtaining provisional authority to build landing stations in Baler, Aurora and Digos City, Davao del Sur.

The proposed landing stations will host the $80 million Apricot cable system that seeks to speed up the transfer of data within and among Asia Pacific economies.

PLDT president and CEO Alfredo Panlilio said the Baler and Davao landing stations would play a crucial role in boosting the international capacity of the telco giant. Further, it would add resiliency to PLDT’s network of similar facilities in Batangas, Camarines Norte and La Union.

Panlilio said PLDT chose to locate the landing stations in Baler and Digos City as the sites provide telco operators an alternate route that falls outside the West Philippine Sea.

Telco carriers like PLDT are facing logistical challenges in installing and repairing subsea cables in disputed waters due to territorial tensions in the region.

With landing stations rising in Baler and Digos City, PLDT was given a clear path to link to data offices in the US through the Pacific Ocean.

“When our Baler and Davao cable landing stations are completed, we will have alternative sites facing the Pacific, making it easier to hook up to data offices in the US,” Panlilio said.

The proposed landing stations are scheduled to be finished by 2025. They will serve as the inland trunk for the Apricot cable system that will be activated toward the end of the same year.

Apricot is expected to boost PLDT’s international capacity by 35 terabits per second. It will host trunk stations in Guam, Japan, and Singapore, improving the efficiency and speed of data transfer within the region.

PLDT is aggressive in laying down new subsea cables to persuade tech giants, such as Amazon, Google and Meta, to consider the Philippines as a site for their data offices.

Submarine cables like Apricot provide a direct line for data exchange between locations, making them a critical infrastructure in an era when digital platforms are used daily.