PLDT Inc. is investing $80 million for the construction of a new international undersea cable system that will further expand its network bandwidth capacity by 2024.
PLDT along with four other parties have formed a consortium for the APRICOT Cable system that features state-of-the-art facilities with 400G transmission technology and multiple pairs of high-capacity optical fibers.
The telco said this will boost its network capability to service the country’s growing data traffic driven by more digital services and new technologies such as fifth generation, and adds to the country’s advantage to help draw in global hyperscalers expanding in the region.
“We continue to invest in international submarine cable systems, which are necessary infrastructure for global communications supporting ICT services. The construction of this APRICOT Cable system is vital to the Philippine economy with rapidly increasing data traffic and is aligned with our efforts to make the Philippines a strategic data center hub in the region,” said Alfredo Panlilio, PLDT and Smart Communications Inc. president and chief executive officer.
The new cable system is targeted to be fully operational in 2024. Slated to further augment PLDT’s international capacity for data traffic, particularly to the US and across Asia and the Pacific, the 12,000-kilometer cable system will have a design capacity of more than 190 terabits per second connecting the Philippines to Japan, Singapore, Indonesia, Taiwan and Guam.
The APRICOT Cable project is the third international cable network system announced by the PLDT Group in the last two years which when completed would bring PLDT’s participation to 18 international cable systems.
PLDT earlier announced its $136.7-million investment in the Jupiter Cable project and the 9,400-km. Asia Direct Cable system set to be completed by end 2021 and early 2023, respectively.
Currently, PLDT has extensive participation in 14 international submarine cable systems and one terrestrial system carrying data traffic going in and out of the Philippines.
PLDT has been expanding its fiber network in and out of the country. In addition to P460 billion invested from 2011 to 2020, it is eyeing additional capital expenditure of P88 billion to P92 billion in 2021, aiding the country’s efforts in nation-building through digital services and technology.
