PLDT invests PHP1bn in fibre network strengthening plan

Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT) plans to commit additional investment of around PHP1 billion (USD22.9 million) to add a further 15,000km of new fibre-optic cable facilities in 2014, extending the group’s total fibre network to nearly 100,000km by the end of this year. PLDT president and chief executive officer Napoleon L Nazareno, said: ‘We are further fortifying our fibre advantage which is critical to our ability to handle the expected explosion of data traffic in the coming years.’ The official went on to add: ‘Our changing revenue mix underscores that our future clearly lies in data and fibre, driving our strategic investments in technical infrastructure in recent years and giving us a decisive advantage in today’s data-driven world.’ PLDT reported consolidated revenue of PHP41.2 billion in the first three months of this year, up 3% compared to PHP39.9 billion in the same period of 2013. In 2014, the company plans to shore up its facilities in Northern Luzon through the installation of almost 600km of fibre-optics this year. ‘The ongoing reinforcement program for our Northern Luzon DFON will make our network more resilient and less susceptible to fibre breaks that could result in the disruption of our services, the areas being vulnerable to fibre cuts due to typhoons, landslides, and public works diggings,’ said Rolando Pena, PLDT Network Group head.