Philippines completes fiber optic network
A new fiber optic network will bring broadband to two regions in the Philippines.
By Donna DonowitzDecember 9, 2010
The Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company recently completed construction of a fiber optic network that will bring broadband internet connections to Visayas and Mindanao, the Philippine Daily Herald reports. At a briefing at its headquarters in Makati, PLDT said the Domestic Fiber Optic Network would be a boon for industry growth and business process outsourcing outside of Metro Manila.
“Our transmission backbone is now much more resilient, thus, raising the quality and reliability of our services,” said Napoleon Nazareno, CEO and president of PLDT. “We can also provide more communities with both basic and advanced broadband services, unlocking new economic opportunities for central and southern Philippines.”
The fiber optic cable system is 1,300 kilometers long. It will stretch from the Bicol province in Central Philippines through Visayas and Mindanao in the southern part of the country.
For extra security, PLDT built two fiber optic cable systems on opposite sides of the country. The company says this was done to ensure that service would not be disabled if one of the cables snapped. According to the news provider, past accidental cable cuts have caused widespread network outages and slowdowns in bandwidth speeds.
“This latest DFON expansion greatly reduces the risk of downtimes, which will benefit not only large corporations but also small businesses and households,” said Rolanda Pena, PLDT’s customer service assurance group head.
The new fiber optic system will have a capacity of 1.5 terabytes per second, allowing PLDT to open 4 million new DSL connections, a dramatic increase from the 600,000 it currently serves.
Fiber optic cable is expanding throughout Asia. Recently, a telecommunications company acquired a majority stake in a 34,000 km fiber optic cable project in China. "This acquisition will allow [the company] to control its own destiny as to all its current and future broadband operations in China," said its CEO, George Alvarez. "A fiber backbone network is the central nervous system that supports the last mile wireless solutions [we are] deploying.
The company hopes to upgrade 9,000 km of fiber optic cable to increase the transmission of data to the 100 GB standard.
Additionally, companies in Japan have been working to develop fiber optic networks. Recently, Nippon Telegraph had its plans to create its own fiber optic network division rejected by the government, which urged the company to lower its fees for fiber optic use. Currently, most telecom companies in Japan looking to lease fiber-optic lines must do so through NTT.
“Our transmission backbone is now much more resilient, thus, raising the quality and reliability of our services,” said Napoleon Nazareno, CEO and president of PLDT. “We can also provide more communities with both basic and advanced broadband services, unlocking new economic opportunities for central and southern Philippines.”
The fiber optic cable system is 1,300 kilometers long. It will stretch from the Bicol province in Central Philippines through Visayas and Mindanao in the southern part of the country.
For extra security, PLDT built two fiber optic cable systems on opposite sides of the country. The company says this was done to ensure that service would not be disabled if one of the cables snapped. According to the news provider, past accidental cable cuts have caused widespread network outages and slowdowns in bandwidth speeds.
“This latest DFON expansion greatly reduces the risk of downtimes, which will benefit not only large corporations but also small businesses and households,” said Rolanda Pena, PLDT’s customer service assurance group head.
The new fiber optic system will have a capacity of 1.5 terabytes per second, allowing PLDT to open 4 million new DSL connections, a dramatic increase from the 600,000 it currently serves.
Fiber optic cable is expanding throughout Asia. Recently, a telecommunications company acquired a majority stake in a 34,000 km fiber optic cable project in China. "This acquisition will allow [the company] to control its own destiny as to all its current and future broadband operations in China," said its CEO, George Alvarez. "A fiber backbone network is the central nervous system that supports the last mile wireless solutions [we are] deploying.
The company hopes to upgrade 9,000 km of fiber optic cable to increase the transmission of data to the 100 GB standard.
Additionally, companies in Japan have been working to develop fiber optic networks. Recently, Nippon Telegraph had its plans to create its own fiber optic network division rejected by the government, which urged the company to lower its fees for fiber optic use. Currently, most telecom companies in Japan looking to lease fiber-optic lines must do so through NTT.
