Asia-America submarine cable network up by August, says PLDT

PHILIPPINE Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) on Wednesday said the Asia-America Gateway submarine cable network in Northern Luzon would be operational in August this year to serve the rising demand for broadband bandwidth.

PLDT said the consortium has ensured that the quality of engineering and installation work of the 20,000 kilometers AAG submarine cable is not compromised despite challenges like bad weather.

The country’s biggest telecommunications firm said the construction of the Philippine Terminal Station in La Union, as well as the other terminal stations comprising the AAG cable project, has been completed.

The company’s first international submarine cable landing station is located in Nasugbu, Batangas.

The other terminal stations are located in Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Guam, Hawaii and US Mainland.

“All land cable installation works have been installed and majority of the submarine cable portion have been laid. [The] remaining submarine cable installation work is expected to be completed this month. Network testing is expected to begin immediately after the completion of the remaining submarine installation works,” PLDT said.

The project costs about $553.63 million, with PLDT committing $50 million for a 9.03-percent share in the venture. Including the Philippine cable landing station, PLDT’s total investment amounted to $62 million, which is financed through internally generated funds,”

The company’s investment in AAG was approved by the National Telecommunications Commission last year.

PLDT will be the new cable network’s landing party in the Philippines and this system will connect Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei Darussalam, Vietnam, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Guam, Hawaii and California.

Fernando Sobierra 3rd, PLDT legal counsel, said the project is expected to meet the forecasted explosive growth in the bandwidth requirements of the country for new and revolutionary broadband applications such as Internet protocol, video, data and other multimedia services. It will also provide resiliency and diversity to the existing submarine cable systems.

Eric Alberto, PLDT’s customer sales and marketing group head, said that the AAG project will boost the company’s Internet and business-process outsourcing ventures.

“We expect in two years of at least one million subscribers,” he said.