PLDT Inc. said it is on track to start the operation of its Apricot cable system in 2027, expecting it to boost the company’s international bandwidth capacity to meet growing demand.
Benedict Patrick Alcoseba, PLDT’s head of enterprise product management and global capacity strategy, told reporters in an interview on Friday the Apricot cable system will be finished by 2027. It was originally scheduled for completion in 2026 but faced delays in the permit and construction process.
Alcoseba noted the importance of the new cable system in increasing the resiliency of the Philippines as it connects with different Southeast Asian countries.
“It also helps us to connect to the US via Guam. So we will have more connections so that there is better resiliency and more capacity, there is more stable internet,” Alcoseba added.
Last month, the cable laying for the two landing stations of the Apricot cable system — one in the north, in Baler, and another in the south, in Davao — have been completed.
The cable system connects Singapore to Japan with branches to the Philippines, Indonesia, Taiwan and Guam, making it suitable as an intra-Asia hub point for OTTs, and to complement other intra-Asia and transpacific submarine systems.
Apricot will increase PLDT’s international capacity by as much as 33 percent, totaling more than 140 terabits per second (Tbps), further boosting the diversity and capacity of its cable system portfolio, PLDT said.
Alcoseba said the company is also considering the construction of an additional submarine cable station once the Apricot cable system is completed to ensure sufficient capacity.
