PLDT has announced its plan to expand its bandwidth capacity via a ₱3.9 billion ($80 million) investment on an international undersea cable system.
According to PLDT CEO Alfredo Panlilio, the investment is part of the company’s efforts to make the Philippines a regional strategic data center hub. It will also attract global hyperscalers to the country as they look for potential regional hubs to expand their cloud services.
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With a design capacity exceeding 190 terabits per second, the cable system will connect the Philippines to Guam, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, and Taiwan. The system will be constructed by Apricot Cable System, which will make use of 400G transmission technology along with high-capacity optical fibers.
With its partnership with Apricot, PLDT is currently participating in 18 international cable systems. The Apricot system will span 12,000 kilometers and will expand the telco’s fiber network footprint further. As of June 2021, the network comprises 524,000 kilometers of cable.
So, they sold off their aging cable landing stations to converge. Jupiter was already supposed to be lit, but Covid. That will be the most direct route to the US available with a leg going to Japan. Then they will have Apricot which gives them their own new link to Singapore and Japan which are landing stations for other important cables. And, the cable will allow Guam, Indonesia, and to some extent Taiwan to cross traffic from Apricot to Jupiter as an attractive route to the US. Converge has landing stations now and plans. Nothing from Globe? Dito?