SMC units looking to expand Filipino operations

Filipino telco Eastern Telecommunications Philippines Inc (ETPI) and its subsidiary Telecommunications Technologies Philippines Inc (TTPI), both of which are controlled by local conglomerate San Miguel Corp (SMC), have announced plans to extend their operations in a bid to secure a share of the lucrative domestic communications market. The BusinessMirror newspaper reports that ETPI, which holds licences to offer a range of telecoms services in the country, is working on expanding its own telecommunications network nationwide – part of which includes the deployment of a fibre-optic cable (FOC) along the proposed Tarlac, Pangasinan, La Union Expressway. The paper notes that SMC is part of a consortium that will build the 88.58km toll-road project, adding that ETPI’s new FOC will serve as a backbone for the northern Luzon region. In the south of the country, ETPI already owns a FOC connecting its head office in Makati with its technical operating centres in Nasugbu, Batangas, via Cavite, Laguna and Batangas provinces. Meanwhile, TTPI also owns a FOC linking to Calamba, Laguna, and plans to extend this facility to Bicol, the Visayas and Mindanao.