A new submarine cable system: What it means for PH

MANILA, Philippines – The newest addition to the growing cable systems of Globe is the Southeast Asia-United States submarine cable system – a $250-million undersea facility that directly connects the Philippines to the United States.

Game-changer

The SEA-US cable system links five different areas and territories including Manado (Indonesia), Davao (Philippines), Piti (Guam), Oahu (Hawaii, United States), and Los Angeles (California, United States).

In the Philippines, it lands in Globe Telecom’s cable station in Barangay Talomo, Davao where the power feed equipment necessary to run the system is located.

Globe President and CEO Ernest Cu said this “changes the game for the country” as the SEA-US cable system is first to take the route less travelled by telecommunications companies in the Philippines – the south.

Unlike most international cable systems built in Luzon, the 14,500 kilometer SEA-US cable system bypasses earthquake zones in the north, which is why it is more resilient and is less susceptible to signal interruptions caused by natural calamities.

Impact on PH economy

The SEA-US cable system uses the latest 100 gigabits per second transmission technology to deliver an additional 20 terabits per second capacity, and it is expected to positively influence businesses and employment in the Mindanao region as well as the rest of the country.

According to Globe Telecom Chairman Jaime Augusto Zobel De Ayala, the Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP) is “looking at creating close to 2 million jobs in the country and 7.6 million jobs outside the BPAP and Business Processing sector” until 2022.

This significant increase in job opportunities, made possible by continuous network upgrades by telecommunications companies, is expected to add around $40 billion revenues to the country.

“All of these would not be possible without the kind of capacity that all of us are putting here together for allowing the digital signals to continue travelling around the world at a cost-effective way,” Zobel De Ayala said.

The Mindanao region and the rest of the country will benefit from the reduction of latency brought about by the new cable system.

“Previously, data from Mindanao had to go all the way up of the Philippines exiting in Luzon somewhere – in Batangas or Ballesteros for Globe. Today it stays there, and it goes out from there direct to the U.S., so it’s basically first world internet capabilities [now] in the area of Davao,” Cu explained.

High-speed internet and the future Filipino household

Households will also benefit from this added traffic generator to the Globe network.

Once available everywhere, this first world quality internet connectivity is expected to match the shifting media consumption of Filipino households, which is geared towards online streaming of content.

It will also enable more homes to enjoy smart home appliances and internet-powered home security that are seen to play a great role in the daily life of almost every Filipino in the near future.

The SEA-US submarine cable system was built by a consortium of seven international telecommunications companies including Globe Telecom, GTI Corporation (a member of the Globe Telecom group of companies), Hawaiian Telcom, PT. Telekomunikasi Indonesia International (Telin), RAM Telecom International (RTI), Teleguam Holdings GTI Corp. (GTA), and Telkom USA; with NEC Corporation and NEC Corporation of America as system suppliers for the project.

Watch the launch on these links:
https://www.facebook.com/inquirerdotnet/videos/10156069414889453/
https://www.facebook.com/inquirerdotnet/videos/10156069524334453/
https://www.facebook.com/inquirerdotnet/videos/10156069587564453/