PLDT installs underground cables in ‘Yolanda’ areas

Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT). AFP FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines–Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. has earmarked P400 million for the installation of underground fiber optic cables in areas hit by Super Typhoon “Yolanda” in the Visayas region to strengthen the resiliency of its network.

In a statement, the country’s biggest telecommunications company said the so-called Yolanda Project covered Leyte, Samar, Cebu and Panay Island.

PLDT said it had completed two fiber-in-the-loop (FITL) areas under the so-called PLDT Yolanda Project that would serve both fixed line and wireless customers. These would replace the aerial cables in the areas damaged by the typhoon in November last year.

“We have started fortifying our domestic fiber optic network (DFON) in the Visayas, beginning with the areas that were hit by Typhoon Yolanda,” PLDT technology group head Rolando Peña said in the statement.

“Underground cables are less vulnerable to fiber cuts due to typhoons and landslides. This helps makes our network more resilient and less susceptible to disruptions,” he added.

PLDT president and CEO Napoleon Nazareno said this was PLDT’s way of helping the Visayas region recover from the devastating impact of Supertyphoon Yolanda, which was one of the strongest typhoon ever recorded in the world.

“With the Yolanda Project, we are re-connecting the affected provinces to the rest of the Philippines and the world with high-quality voice, data and multimedia services in a much more robust and sustainable manner,” said Nazareno.

PLDT’s total fiber assets have exceeded 90,000 kilometers, making it the most extensive fiber network in the country.

Earlier this year, PLDT fortified its 600-kilometer fiber optic cable network in its Northern Luzon, strengthening its capacity to provide multimedia services to an estimated 11 million subscribers of PLDT mobile subsidiaries Smart and Sun Cellular and around 450,000 customers of PLDT Home.

In March, PLDT’s DFON linked Palawan province to the world to through undersea and inland cable links that run from Puerto Princesa to Taytay in Palawan and San Jose de Buenavista to La Paz, Iloilo City. The enhanced fiber links support the increasing demand for reliable telecoms and data services in one of the most popular tourist destinations in the country.–Miguel R. Camus