PLDT investing P1B in Bohol fiber network

Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) said demand for telecommunication and data services was increasing in Bohol and it was planning to invest P1 billion in the province to expand its fiber network.

The investment was deemed necessary given the expansion of the call center and outsourcing industries in the area and the implementation of major development projects in the province, such as the New Bohol International Airport in Panglao, PLDT said in a statement.

“The fiber optic cable expansion projects in Bohol include the roll-out of two legs of inland and submarine cables that will add more than 280 kilometers of fiber to PLDT’s network,” it said.

One leg of the expansion that will run across Bohol’s southwest coastal corner is set to be completed by March next year while the northeast corner leg is slated for completion in the fourth quarter of the same year.

PLDT’s current infrastructure in Bohol—which runs along Tagbilaran, Baclayon, and Dauis—serves more than 500,000 wireless subscribers and about 2,000 fixed wireless broadband subscribers, with more than 4,000 fixed lines that could increase to more than 5,000 by 2014 after the completion of the project.

The move will likewise grow the existing 90-kilometer fiber network in Panglao Island and Tagbilaran City, supporting the ICT upgrade projects for the proposed international airport in Panglao.

“This fiber expansion program will enable PLDT to fully serve the growing communications requirements of the tourism and other industries in the province,” said PLDT president and CEO Napoleon L. Nazareno in the same statement.

PLDT Group technology head Rolando Pena noted that the Bohol fiber expansion project would provide PLDT’s fiber optic network a  third leg link between Tagbilaran and Cagayan de Oro that would also make the Mindanao network more resilient and less susceptible to outage.

He said the new fiber optic cable facilities would also let PLDT provide fiber-to-the-home services and support the operations of its wireless subsidiaries Smart Communications and Sun Cellular in providing the high-speed LTE connection to its subscribers in the area.

“PLDT is partnering with Bohol’s local governments to better serve the various industries that the region is currently developing,” said PLDT vice president and Visayas Mindanao customer service operations district head Jess Tañedo.

“The province has been keen on developing the outsourcing industry to take advantage of the large pool of graduates produced by its colleges and universities,” he added.

PLDT earlier said it was extending its fiber assets to more than 71,000 kilometers by the end of the year.

“This gives us a decisive edge not only in the traditional fixed and mobile business, but more importantly, in data and video services,” Nazareno said.

The P1-billion fiber expansion program in Bohol is part of PLDT’s P29-billion capital expenditures programmed for 2013.