PLDT Inc. is continuing to expand its international cable network by building the P4.4 billion ($75 million) Asia Direct Cable (ADC) that will link Batangas to several landing points throughout East and Southeast Asia.
Leading communications and technology companies from around the world have formed the ADC, which includes PLDT, China Telecom, China Unicom, National Telecom, Singtel, SoftBank Corp., Tata Communications, and Viettel Group.
Begun in the Philippines, construction on the 9,400-kilometer subsea cable is anticipated to be completed by the end of 2023, with all landing links. Once complete, ADC will link seven international cable landing points in East and Southeast Asia from Batangas, Philippines to Tuas, Singapore; Chung Hom Kok, Hong Kong; Maruyama, Japan; Quy Nhon, Vietnam; Sri Racha, Thailand; and Shantou, China.
The number of PLDT’s international submarine cable systems will rise to 19 with the anticipated activation of the ADC and Apricot cables systems. Additionally, the telco’s current international network capacity of 60 Terabyte per second (Tbps) would more than double to over 130 Tbps once it is fully operational.
The cable system’s minimum 200G DWDM system per wavelength design will greatly increase PLDT’s network bandwidth traveling within and outside of the country. Additionally, it will give PLDT an extra 36Tbps of international network capacity for the faster transport of hyperscale data throughout East and Southeast Asia.
According to Al S. Panlilio, PLDT President & CEO, the Asia Direct Cable will improve and expand the Philippines’ connectivity throughout Asia together with PLDT’s current international submarine cable systems. It would also strengthen PLDT’s worldwide network and advance the country’s digitization and burgeoning digital economy.
Moreover, for Jojo G. Gendrano, PLDT SVP & Head of Enterprise Business Group, their dedication to enhancing and syncing the country’s Hyperscale Ecosystem of interconnected digital infrastructures, including data centers, subsea cables, domestic fiber network, 5G, cloud, and IOT, is further solidified by this investment.
Global data will be directly transported to and from VITRO Sta Rosa and the other PLDT data center facilities located throughout the country using ADC.
Housed in the VITRO internet exchange (VIX) which gives access to the vast number of digitally savvy customers and fosters collaboration through data interchange between organizations, the linking of these massive infrastructure will improve the IP ecosystem of the country.
