Globe launches SEA-US cable system in Davao City

Rappler.com

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Globe launches SEA-US cable system in Davao City
Cable facility to enhance connectivity in Mindanao

MANILA, Philippines – Globe Telecom held a ceremonial launch for its $250-million Southeast Asia-United States (SEA-US) submarine cable system in Davao City on Friday, September 22, which the company sees will improve transmission, connectivity, and network resiliency in Mindanao and the rest of the country. 

Outside of Luzon, the 14,500-kilometer undersea cable is the first direct connection of Globe to the United States via Guam, Hawaii, and California. The direct connection enables faster transmission of data to the US. Globe reported to have spent $80 million for the new undersea cable sytem.

The investment is separate from the $750-million capital expenditure of the company this year to enhance its data capacities, specifically to deploy LTE using the 700 MHz, 1800 MHz, and 2600 MHz frequencies. 

In the same statement, Globe also touted having established a data center in Davao City, which along with the new undersea cable system, will help in supporting the growing information and communications technology requirements of BPOs, financial institutions, Internet service providers and other content providers in Southern Philippines.

“[The undersea cable system] will enable businesses to thrive and prosper with 1st world internet connectivity at cost-efficient rates in support of the government’s efforts to make the Philippines become globally competitive.  This will also make our network future-ready in anticipation of our customers’ growing bandwidth requirements,” said Ernest Cu, Globe president and CEO.

Senior vice president Peter Maquera expects more new jobs to be created thanks to the new undersea cable system.

“It will attract more players from major trade and industry centers in Mindanao region and expand more BPO spaces – which means the creation of more jobs in the service sector and more livelihood opportunities for not only the people of Davao but also for neighboring cities and municipalities,” said Maquera.

Having its own undersea cables, Globe said, will lessens the country’s dependence on international cable systems that go through Japan and North Asia to connect to the US. In total, Globe now has 3 domestic fiber optic backbones and several investments in international undersea cables.

Multiple backbones and cable routes can help service providers like Globe sustain connectivity, even when disaster strikes some of these cables. One recent example is the submarine cable cut caused by the the recent typhoon in Hong Kong which severely affected services of other internet providers in the Philippines and the region.

Other technical information

The SEA-US cable system is connected to the Globe cable landing station in Brgy. Talomo, Davao City, which also houses the Power Feed Equipment necessary to run the system. 

The facility uses 100 gigabits per second transmission technology to deliver an additional 20 terabits per second capacity.  Globe expects the demand to grow, and the additional capacity will cater to the exponential growth of bandwidth between the two continents. 

The system was also built by a consortium of 7 international telecommunications companies and links five regions that include Manado (Indonesia), Davao (Philippines), Piti (Guam), Oahu (Hawaii, United States), and Los Angeles (California, United States).

Aside from being part of the SEA-US consortium, Globe is also a member of an international consortium of telecommunications and technology companies operating the Southeast Asia-Japan Cable (SJC) system which links seven territories that include Brunei, mainland China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, and the Philippines. – Rappler.com

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