PLDT expands global footprint with Telehouse Europe

MANILA, Philippines – Legacy telecommunications company Philippine Long Distance and Telephone Company (PLDT) has partnered with Telehouse Europe, a data center operator in a bid to expand its global footprint.

PLDT first vice president Jovy Hernandez said the partnership between PLDT UK and one of the world’s largest data center operators would allow the telecommunications giant to expand its global points of presence (PoP).

Hernandez, who also heads PLDT ALPHA Enterprise, pointed out that the tie-up allows PLDT to offer pan-global connectivity from the Philippines to the European country.

With the partnership, the company could now provide clients with an Ethernet International Private Leased Circuit (E/IPLC) service from the United Kingdom to the rest of the world, as part of its Global Managed Ethernet service offerings.

With its direct connections to Hong Kong and the US, the PDT UK PoP is enabled to achieve optimal latency for its customers around the world. This builds on over 500 domestic ethernet nodes that it owns in the Philippines and PoPs in Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, and the US.

‘Great decision’

“PLDT has made a great decision to expand its E/IPLC into the United Kingdom as the market becomes ever more significant in the global telecommunications infrastructure,” Telehouse director of sales and marketing Michelle Reid said.

Reid added,  “With over 535 connectivity providers now in the Telehouse Docklands campus, we look forward to enabling them to maximize the opportunity this expansion represents.” 

PLDT is keen to partner with regional and global providers to expand its coverage and deliver Ethernet services to its customers.

 Last year, PLDT through PLDT Global announced that it was going full blast in further expanding its presence overseas, particularly in Europe, to cater to Filipinos living and working abroad.

PLDT launched its operations in the US and Canada last year.

PLDT Global through PLDT US Mobility launched Smart World Mobile in June through partnership T-Mobile, sealing nationwide coverage on long-term evolution (LTE) network in the US. 

With the partnership, subscribers in Honolulu, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Francisco would be connected to the largest mobile subscriber base of about 75 million subscribers of Smart Communications Inc. and Digitel Mobile Philippines Inc. (Sun Cellular) in the Philippines.

Another target for PLDT is to expand to the East Coast in the US this 2015, wherein 65% and 70% of the 3.4 million Filipinos in the US are based.

The firm’s global unit also has existing mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) deals with 8 countries including Guam, Hong Kong, Macau, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, United Kingdom, and the US. – Rappler.com