PLDT : fires up ICT projects for Mindanao digital infrastructure

These major projects located in Davao are: PLDT's fourth cable landing station, a state-of-the-art Innovations Laboratory (Innolab) - the company's seventh; and the PLDT Group's eighth data center - the first built in Mindanao. All these form part of PLDT's programmed P48 billion capital expenditure for 2016.

'These projects will greatly expand PLDT's network capacity and quality of services which will benefit industries located in Visayas and Mindanao, and enable them to participate in the emerging gigabit society,' said PLDT Chief Revenue Officer and ePLDT President and CEO Eric R. Alberto.

'We have accelerated the necessary investments that will help build and strengthen the regions' enterprises, and enable them to become, not just locally, but globally competitive armed with new digital tools and innovative solutions,' he added.

PLDT's fourth cable landing station in Davao links Mindanao to all of PLDT's three existing international gateways in located in Nasugbu, Batangas; Bauang, La Union, and Daet, Camarines Norte. PLDT has the most number of cable landing stations in the Philippines.

This will significantly improve the flow of international data traffic to and from Mindanao, providing better resiliency and reduced latency for enterprises particularly those that demand bandwidth-heavy data services such as the BPO industry.

PLDT's Davao cable landing station also connects Mindanao to PLDT's international managed network that has points-of-presence (POP) in Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan and the US, with a fully-managed, high bandwidth global connectivity with automatic re-routing and switching capability through different international cable routes in the event of cable faults, further improving network resiliency.

The Davao data center is the latest addition to the PLDT Group's network of data centers. The Davao data center will provide hosting, colocation, and business continuity services for enterprises, and is a suitable secondary back-up location for businesses with data already housed in other data centers across the country.

The PLDT Group currently operates seven data centers around the Philippines with the most recent addition being its largest data center in Makati City. PLDT plans to expand the number of its data center facilities to 10 by 2017 with an unmatched rack capacity of over 9,000 - the largest by any provider in the country.

The state-of-the-art Innolab facility is the latest venue where the PLDT Group's innovative products and business solutions are tested and showcased to consumers. It serves as training hub for ICT services and offers technical assistance for clients. This showroom also serves as a conducive space for tech events such as hackathons and conferences to support local programmers and developers.

'PLDT aims to enable businesses nationwide with globally competitive services and solutions anchored on an evolving digital environment. We hope to develop and nurture that digital hub in the southern Philippines to further serve the need for a stronger and more robust digital infrastructure,' concluded Alberto.

PLDT has geared up for the digital economy by building its fiber optic backbone and distribution network which has reached more than 140,000 kilometers, the most extensive in the Philippines.