PLDT completes 3 ICT deals in Davao

MANILA, Philippines – PLDT Incorporated completed 3 major information and communications technology (ICT) projects in Davao City seen to serve as a strong take-off platform for the region’s digital infrastructure and support for its economic growth.

These major projects are: PLDT’s 4th cable landing station, its 7th Innovations Laboratory (Innolab), and its 8th data center – the first built in Mindanao. 

All these form part of PLDT’s P48-billion capital spending budget for 2016.

“These projects will greatly expand PLDT’s network capacity and quality of services which will benefit industries located in Visayas and Mindanao, and enable them to participate in the emerging gigabit society,” PLDT chief revenue officer and ePLDT president and CEO Eric Alberto said in a statement on Tuesday, December 27.

“We have accelerated the necessary investments that will help build and strengthen the regions’ enterprises, and enable them to become, not just locally, but globally competitive armed with new digital tools and innovative solutions,” he added.

PLDT said its 4th cable landing station in Davao links Mindanao to all of PLDT’s 3 existing international gateways in Nasugbu, Batangas; Bauang, La Union; and Daet, Camarines Norte. 

PLDT has the most number of cable landing stations in the Philippines.

This will significantly improve the flow of international data traffic to and from Mindanao, providing better resiliency and reduced latency for enterprises, particularly those that demand bandwidth-heavy data services such as the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry.

PLDT said its Davao cable landing station also connects Mindanao to PLDT’s international managed network that has points-of-presence (POP) in Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, and the US.

“[It is] with a fully-managed, high bandwidth global connectivity with automatic re-routing and switching capability through different international cable routes in the event of cable faults, further improving network resiliency,” Alberto said.

Its Davao data center is the latest addition to the PLDT group’s network of data centers.

“The Davao data center will provide hosting, colocation, and business continuity services for enterprises, and is a suitable secondary back-up location for businesses with data already housed in other data centers across the country,” the PLDT official said.

PLDT operates 7 data centers around the Philippines, the largest of which is in Makati City.

PLDT said it plans to expand the number of its data center facilities to 10 by 2017, with an unmatched rack capacity of over 9,000.

Meanwhile, the Innolab facility is where the PLDT group’s products and business solutions are tested and showcased to consumers.

“It serves as training hub for ICT services and offers technical assistance for clients. This showroom also serves as a conducive space for tech events such as hackathons and conferences to support local programmers and developers,” Alberto explained.

PLDT said it is continuously building its fiber optic backbone and distribution network, which has reached more than 140,000 kilometers. – Rappler.com