Philippine incumbent PLDT plans to sign an MoU this year with a consortium of telcos to build a second international cable to the US.
International network VP Gene Sanchez said the group would likely invest US$50m-US$100m in the project, helping it…
Philippine incumbent PLDT plans to sign an MoU this year with a consortium of telcos to build a second international cable to the US.
International network VP Gene Sanchez said the group would likely invest US$50m-US$100m in the project, helping it meet soaring demand for high-speed broadband.
The group’s first international cable to the US was built in November 2009 with a consortium of 19 parties. It invested US$50m in the US$550m project, called the Asia-America Gateway (AAG) Cable System.
If this latest project goes ahead, it will be the fifth international cable system that PLDT partly owns that lands in the Philippines. Aside from AAG, the telco also has stakes in Asia Submarine Cable Express (ASE), Asia Pacific Cable Network (APCN) 2, and the East Asia Cable (EAC) Network.
Eric Alberto, PLDT’s head of enterprise, international and carrier business, said: “We’ve always anticipated the need to constantly increase our capacity especially in serving the country’s leading industries given their demand for a resilient, low latency, and expansive data-driven network such as the BPO and outsourcing industries.
Earlier this month, PLDT paid an undisclosed sum to buy Mindanao-based telco Metro Phone, giving it 75% of the fixed-line market in the country’s second-largest island.
