PLDT Inc. said it has completed the cable-laying for the two landing stations of the Apricot cable system, which is expected to significantly boost the company’s international capacity over the next two years.
The Apricot cable system is reinforced by two landing points in the Philippines at two newly built cable landing stations — one in the north in Baler and another in the south in Davao, PLDT said in a statement on Wednesday.
The cable system connects Singapore to Japan with branches to the Philippines, Indonesia, Taiwan and Guam, making it suited as an Intra-Asia Hub point for OTTs, and complements with other intra-Asia and transpacific submarine systems.
PLDT said Apricot will increase its international capacity by as much as 33 percent totaling to more than 140 terabits per second (Tbps), further boosting the diversity and capacity of its cable system portfolio.
Seen to augment PLDT’s international capacity for data traffic, the 12,000-kilometer-long Apricot cable system will be a state-of-the-art, high-capacity fiber optic submarine cable system that will address the increasing telecommunications traffic capacity demands in the Asia Pacific region, with a system design capacity of more than 211 Tbps.
“Our continued investment in our network, including our international submarine cable systems like Apricot, are part of our enduring commitment to ensure the success of our partners, boost the economy by propelling the country’s digitalization aspirations, and help position the Philippines as a strategic data center hub in Asia Pacific,” said Jojo Gendrano, PLDT and Smart Communications Inc. head of enterprise business group.
In a filing at the Philippines Stock Exchange on March 3, PLDT said the completion of the Apricot cable in 2027 will further augment its international capacity for data traffic, particularly to the US.
