Globe expands Internet backbone capacity

Globe Telecom has completed network enhancements that would give it the largest Internet backbone capacity in the country – 50 percent more than other local operators.

Globe can now boast of 110 megabit per second (mbps) of international connectivity after completing its international backbone upgrade that runs over multiple cable systems.

The multi-cable, multi-uplink design ensures that the company’s broadband customers would enjoy the fastest response time and highest availability for Internet applications.

So far, Globe, through GlobeNet and GlobeData, has completed direct connections with large US Internet service providers (ISPs) such as Savvis, TeleGlobe, Concert, UUnet, AboveNet and SingTel.

It has similar arrangements with large local Internet exchanges and ISPs such as PHIX, CORE, Pacific Internet and i-Manila.

Direct peering or connection provides faster and more reliable transmission and reception of information through the Internet.

The upgrade also allows, for the first time, true quality of service for Internet services. Globe is introducing CBR (Constant Bit Rate), a service straight to the US Internet backbone through the Freeway option.

Freeway is GlobeData’s high-speed IPL or international private line with direct connection to the US Internet backbone. It utilizes ATM or asynchronous transfer mode for quality of service and scalability of bandwidth provisioning.

As a result, customers will only see one hop between their routers in the Philippines and the US and will get guaranteed latency and round-trip delay commitments.

Likewise, Globe’s bandwith is expected to further expand once the C2C (City-to-City) cable network becomes operational late this year.

C2C is the first independent undersea cable to land in the Philippines. It is built using a high-availability, self-healing ring architecture and is also the first terabit-scale pan-Asian cable. Globe is part-owner and landing party for C2C.

The C2C cable landing station in Nasugbu, Batangas will also directly connect the Philippines to South Korea, Taiwan, China (where regulations permit) and other neighboring countries via a 17,000-kilometer long cable network. C2C proponents are also planning further extensions for the cable network to include Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam.

With a design capacity of 7.68 terabits or trillion of bits per second (Tbps) and the ability to carry more than 90 million conversations simultaneously, the C2C project is regarded as one of the largest networks in the world in terms of capacity.

C2C operates on a private system arrangement that will allow Globe and other participating firms the option to sell capacity to carriers, ISPs and other end-users on a wholesale basis.

"We are looking forward to further enhancing our international backbone through C2C. By using C2C, we will be able to double our international bandwidth while reducing cost. It will also, for the first time, provide a truly diverse route out of the country using Globe’s wholly owned backhaul, which has a similar architecture as a high-availability fiber loop," said Jesus Romero, Globe AVP for business communications.