P544-M fiber optic network expansion completed in Q1 2015

MANILA, PHILIPPINES – Leading telecommunications firm Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT) eyes the completion of its P544-million ($12.11 million*) expansion project in the first quarter of 2015.

This is the firm’s 18th expansion project since the transmission network was launched in 1997.

Part of the PLDT group’s P32-billion ($712.06 million) capital expenditure program for this year, the expansion project covers the installation of higher-capacity equipment to provide increased bandwidth and speeds for PLDT DSL subscribers, particularly in Metro Manila, the Visayas, and northern Mindanao regions.

The expansion project would increase its total domestic fiber optic network (DFON) by 13% or 520 Gigabits per second to 4.6 terabits per second, PLDT president and CEO Napoleon Nazareno said.

Nazareno added that they are undertaking the project to address the growing broadband subscriber base in all market segments – from individual or home customers in both fixed and mobile businesses, to large and small enterprises.

“Moreover, the bandwidth requirement per customer is rising as more services and applications become available through the Internet,” Nazareno added.

The PLDT Board approved the expansion project in a meeting on Tuesday, September 30. The company’s DFON currently stretches 90,000 kilometers in anticipation of the rapidly rising data usage of the PLDT Group’s subscriber base and the need to strengthen the resiliency of its extensive fiber network.

For 2015, PLDT is spending between P30 billion ($667.48 million) and P35 billion ($778.72 million), or 18% to 20% of its total revenues to further expand its extensive network.

“Our investment program enables us to maintain the clear superiority of our network infrastructure which is the most extensive and robust in the country,” Nazareno said.

Expanding its domestic broadband footprint to cover more parts of the Philippines and adding capacity to maintain the growing network’s resiliency is also in order.

The project would supply added data capacity for mobile subscribers of Smart, Talk N Text, and Sun Cellular, particularly in the Visayas and Mindanao regions. It would also boost bandwidth for corporate leased lines and other enterprise requirements in the islands of Luzon and the Visayas, said PLDT technology head Roland Pena.

“With demand for high-speed Internet services rising, we are making timely investments in order to stay ahead of these anticipated trends,” Pena said.

The capacity expansion project is aligned with PLDT DFON’s coverage in Palawan and Bohol to support industry initiatives in locating more outsourcing companies in different parts of the country.

The project also follows Smart’s initiative of expanding its high-speed wireless broadband network by adding another 1,400 4G long-term evolution (LTE) cell sites by the end of this year. 

 “We’ve gotten a very encouraging response to our free Internet offer. This plus the other initiatives are all expected to boost data usage across both fixed and mobile platforms in many different parts of the country. This new capacity expansion program will enable us to provide quality data services as the demand for these grows,” Pena added.

PLDT’s Smart announced on September 26, that it would be offering a limited-time promotion for all its prepaid subscribers.

The announcement comes says after the Department of Justice (DOJ) warned Internet service providers (ISP) to deliver the same fast, consistent, and reliable service that they peddle in their big-budget advertisements. (READ: Deliver as advertised, DOJ warns Internet service providers) – Rappler.com

*$1 = P44.94