PLDT eyes southern expansion

DIGITAL services provider PLDT Inc. plans to further expand its digital hub in the south, even after recently completing three major tech-development projects in Mindanao, a ranking official said.

Eric R. Alberto, who sits as the company’s chief revenue officer, said the recent completion of the group’s fourth cable-landing station, the establishment of a state-of-the-art Innovations Laboratory (Innolab), and the construction of its first data center in Davao are just a preview of what the company aims to accomplish in the south.

“PLDT aims to enable businesses nationwide, with globally competitive services and solutions anchored on an evolving digital environment. We hope to develop and nurture that digital hub in the southern Philippines to further serve the need for a stronger and more robust digital infrastructure,” he said.

PLDT’s fourth cable-landing station in Davao links Mindanao to all of PLDT’s three existing international gateways located in Nasugbu, Batangas; Bauang, La Union; and Daet, Camarines Norte. The telco titan has the most number of cable-landing stations in the Philippines.

This aims to 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 industry.

The cable-landing station also connects Mindanao to PLDT’s international-managed network that has points of presence in Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan and the US, with a fully managed, high-bandwidth global connectivity with automatic rerouting and switching capability through different international cable routes in the event of cable faults, further improving network resiliency.

The Davao data center is the latest addition to the group’s network of data centers. The data center provides hosting, colocation and business-continuity services for enterprises, and is a suitable secondary backup location for businesses with data already housed in other data centers across the country.

This brings the total number of PLDT data centers in the Philippines to eight. It plans to expand the number of its data-center facilities to 10 this year, with a rack capacity of over 9,000, the largest by any provider in the country.

The state-of-the-art Innolab facility is the latest venue where the PLDT Group’s innovative 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.

“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,” Alberto said.

Source: https://goo.gl/xcmE0n