PLDT completes P1B Palawan fiber optic link

PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Philippines—Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., the country’s largest telecommunications provider, has completed a 620-kilometer fiber optic project linking Palawan province to its broader network infrastructure.

PLDT said the almost P1-billion project involving inland and underwater cables was meant to support demand for reliable telecommunications and data services in one of the country’s most popular tourist hotspots.

With its huge capacity of 40 gigabits per second (GBPS), which can be expanded easily to 100 GBPS, the Palawan digital fiber optic network (DFON) supports the rapidly growing demand for greater bandwidth from corporate and individual subscribers, PLDT President and CEO Napoleon L. Nazareno said in a statement Thursday.

The Palawan fiber optic network enables PLDT to provide fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) facilities that deliver multimedia services and high-speed Internet connectivity from the comfort of people’s homes in Palawan, Nazareno said.

PLDT Technology Group Head Rolando Pena said the new fiber link would allow the activation of the ultra-fast Long Term Evolution (LTE) services for PLDT HOME’s wireless broadband services—another first in the country.

Pena added that this should also help improve the telco’s 3G services in terms of voice call coverage and faster Internet browsing for mobile and Smart Bro users, while supporting the deployment of LTE for subscribers of PLDT mobile subsidiary Smart Communications.

The PLDT Group has been expanding its fiber optic network in the last three years, which now stretches to over 78,000 kilometers—way ahead of competition.

“With the Palawan DFON, PLDT will be able to provide high-capacity bandwidths over long distances while easily accommodating increased capacities. It also improves quality of service, with a system that’s much easier to troubleshoot than the microwave radio system before,” Pena said.

“For PLDT enterprise customers, DFON will facilitate flexibility to grow their businesses in line with revenue opportunities. It will also manage, in a cost effective way, all current traffic requirements and can … meet business demands in the future,” he said.

“With its failsafe network, DFON provides more flexible resiliency, including protection of clients, line/trunk, and wavelength. It also has a secured platform, and meets global standards,” he explained.