NTC Approves PLDT Cable Landing Sites In Baler, Davao

The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) granted PLDT Inc. a provisional authority to build two new cable landing stations in Baler and Davao to host Apricot's newest Intra-Asia submarine cable system to be completed in 2025, the telco announced.

Photo Insert: As of end-March 2023, PLDT has expanded its total fiber footprint to over 1.1 million kilometers, consisting of over 231,000 kilometers of international fiber and over 874,000 kilometers of domestic fiber.

The cable landing stations in Baler, Aurora in the North East and in Digos, Davao, in the Southern coastal borders, will provide telcos with new alternate routes bypassing the West Philippine Seas.

“The Apricot cable system’s route ensures a significantly higher degree of resilience," explained PLDT and Smart Communications Inc. President and CEO Alfredo S. Panlilio.

"When our Baler and Davao cable landing stations are completed, PLDT will have alternate sites facing the Pacific, making it easier to hook up to data offices in the US,” he pointed out.

The new facilities will fortify PLDT’s international cable network to deliver higher speeds, lower latency connectivity in and out of the Philippines, and add resiliency to its existing landing stations in Batangas, La Union, and Daet.

Specifically, they will augment PLDT's international capacity for data traffic to the US and across Asia and the Pacific, boosting the telco's total international capacity to more than 140Tbps once fully equipped.

The 12,000-kilometer-long cable system will connect the Philippines, Japan, Singapore, Indonesia, Taiwan, and Guam.

“As we help position the Philippines as the new hyperscaler destination and major transit hub in Asia, we continue to upgrade and build on the foundations of PLDT’s global network infrastructure," Panlilio elaborated.

"These investments enable us to provide superior digital services to our consumer and enterprise customers, deliver newer technologies with our 4G, & 5G capabilities, and add value for attracting hyperscalers and investors to expand their cloud in the country,” he added.

As of end-March 2023, PLDT has expanded its total fiber footprint to over 1.1 million kilometers, consisting of over 231,000 kilometers of international fiber and over 874,000 kilometers of domestic fiber.

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