PLDT Inc. continues to expand its international cable network and is now building the $75 million, approximately P4.4 billion, link of Asia Direct Cable (ADC) in Batangas, just months after launching the Jupiter cable system, the telco disclosed Monday, October 24.

ADC is a global consortium comprised of leading communications and technology companies, including PLDT, China Telecom, China Unicom, National Telecom, Singtel, SoftBank Corp., Tata Communications and Viettel Group.

The construction of the 9,400-kilometer subsea cable starts in the Philippines, with all landing links expected to be completed by end of 2023.

Submarine fiber optic cables are among the most critical components of the internet’s infrastructure, as they are the global backbone connecting countries, carrying massive amounts of data enabling digital global trade.

When completed, ADC will link seven international cable landing points across East and Southeast Asia from Batangas, Philippines to Tuas, Singapore; Chung Hom Kok, Hong Kong; Maruyama, Japan; Quy Nhon, Vietnam; Si Racha, Thailand; and Shantou, China.

The upcoming activation of ADC and Apricot cables systems will increase the number of PLDT's international submarine cable systems to 19.

Once fully equipped, it will more thsn double the telco's current international network capacity of 60 Terabyte per second (Tbps) to over 130 Tbps.

“Along with PLDT’s existing international submarine cable systems, the Asia Direct Cable will boost and diversify the Philippines’ connectivity within the Asian region,” stated PLDT President & CEO, Al S. Panlilio.

“ADC will strengthen not only PLDT’s global network, but will further advance the country’s digitalization and growing digital economy,” he added.

The cable system will feature a minimum of 200G DWDM system per wavelength design, which will significantly expand PLDT’s network bandwidth going in and out of the country.

Once fully equipped, this will provide PLDT an additional international network capacity of at least 36Tbps for faster delivery of hyperscale data across East and Southeast Asia.

“The Asia Direct Cable will bolster PLDT’s mission to make the Philippines the next hyperscaler destination in Asia-Pacific," stressed PLDT SVP & Head of Enterprise Business Group, Jojo G. Gendrano.

"This investment solidifies our commitment to enrich and synergize the country’s Hyperscale Ecosystem of connected digital infrastructures, such as data centers, subsea cables, domestic fiber network, 5G, cloud, and IOT,” he pointed out.

ADC and the recently energized Jupiter cable system will drive global data straight to and from VITRO Sta. Rosa and the rest of PLDT’s data center facilities across the country.

The interconnection between these massive infrastructure will enrich the country’s IP ecosystem hosted in the VITRO internet exchange (VIX).

VIX provides cloud service operators, content providers and global carriers access to the country’s massive digital-savvy consumers enabling synergies through data exchange amongst entities.