PLDT adding 5,000-km fiber optics to expand DFON

Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) is installing 5,000 kilometers of fiber optic (FOC) cable this year to expand its reach to 60,000 kms, the company said in a statement Monday.

 

The P2.5 billion FOC project is part of the company's domestic fiber optic network (DFON) covered by its P29 billion capital expenditure for the year involving at least 2 million homes in Metro Manila, Central Luzon, Southern Tagalog, Panay, Negros Occidental, Cebu and Davao under the fiber-to-the-home aspect of DFON. 

 

“With this expansion program, we are bolstering our already formidable fiber advantage. Fiber is key to having the capacity to deliver next-generation, large-bandwidth data services,” said PLDT and Smart president and CEO Napoleon L. Nazareno.

 

The additional FOC links include submarine cables to boost data connectivity in Palawan, Bohol and Panay as demand for resilient data services rise on booming tourism and business process outsourcing industries.

 

“Our DFON expansion program will directly support the economic development programs of these major islands,” Nazareno said.

 

PLDT subsidiary Smart Communications is also expanding the coverage of its fourth-generation mobile data network or Long Term Evolution which now has about 1,000 cell sites. 

 

The parent company said this will provide the connectivity to raise Smart’s 3G coverage from about 70 percent to 85-90 percent of the total network.

 

“Even as we maximize our legacy businesses, we are focused on building our data and multimedia services. These are the businesses of the future,” Nazareno said, noting the growing popularity of web-enabled smart phones and demand for media-rich data services on both fixed and mobile devices.

 

This year, PLDT claimed it will upgrade the capacity of different cable systems up to 40 Gigabytes per second and eventually to 100 Gbps.

 

“This will benefit both consumers who are using Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and Google, as well as enterprises such as outsourcing companies that rely on data communications to run their operations,” said Rolando Pena, PLDT Networks head. — VS, GMA News