Globe’s ‘historic’ subsea cable up and running by April

Globe Telecom Inc. is on track to complete its $150-million Philippine Domestic Submarine Cable Network (PDSCN) by April next year after finishing the cable-laying activities in eight provinces.

In a statement on Monday, the Ayala-led company said the fiber optic cable had landed in Lucena City, Boac in Marinduque, Calatrava in Romblon, Placer in Masbate, Iloilo City, Bacolod City, Roxas City and Siargao in Surigao del Norte in two months.

These are among the 33 landing points of the 2,500-kilometer domestic subsea cable. The network is expected to reach more areas in the coming months, including Cebu and Boracay.

“This is a historic subsea cable project that will bring better connectivity and data capacity to several communities who rely on communications for their day to day needs, including education, work and livelihood,” Globe Group president and CEO Ernest Cu said.

“Despite disruptive weather events this wet season, our PDSCN project has been touching down its landing points as planned, bringing reliable fiber connectivity to remote and underserved areas,” added Arlene Jallorina, vice president for strategic infrastructure investments at Globe Business.

PDSCN is a joint project of the Ayala-led firm with telecommunications player Eastern Communications and digital solutions provider InfiniVAN.

In July, Globe started the cable-laying activities in Subic Bay.

The project is expected to “deliver connectivity crucial to the country’s recovery from the pandemic, as it will support government, education, business and even recreational needs for reliable communication facilities.”

Globe earmarked P89 billion this year to finance its expansion plans.

The Ayala-led firm saw its net income in the first half rise by 49 percent to P19.65 billion from last year’s P13.04 billion, supported by consolidated service revenue which grew by 4 percent to P78.9 billion.

Last week, Globe announced that the third and final installment of its tower sales and lease agreements had been inked with PhilTower Consortium Inc. The transaction amounted to P20 billion. INQ