US-SEA submarine cable system to boost economic growth in Mindanao

Mindanao in red (Photo By JL 09 – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0)

MANILA — The submarine cable system connecting the Philippines to the United States through Davao City is expected to strengthen Internet connection in the country.

The USD250-million facility which was deployed by Globe Telecom will help further boost the growth of business in the Mindanao region.

The technology will pave the way for faster data transmission which will benefit business process outsourcing (BPO) and information and communication technology (ICT) companies, according to Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte.

“This is the first in our country and we are more than thrilled that the Cable Landing Station is installed in Talomo, Davao City. Stable connectivity has long been coveted by Filipinos and this breakthrough merits our approbation,” Duterte said in a statement.

The Southeast Asia-United States (SEA-US) submarine cable facility supports the efforts of the telecommunication company to improve its services in Mindanao through the establishment of a data center in Davao to address the increasing ICT requirements of major industries in the region.

The 14,500-kilometer undersea cable uses the latest 100 gigabits per second transmission technology to deliver an additional 20 terabits per second capacity leading to the significant growth in bandwidth between the two continents.

Globe has invested USD 80 million on top of the USD750 million capital expenditure of the company this year to bolster data capacities. It will be utilized for the LTE deployment using the 700 megahertz (Mhz), 1800 Mhz, and 2600 Mhz frequencies.

“This will not be possible without the help of many agencies especially the local government unit in Davao. This project was started about five years ago with a commitment to provide faster transmission, more efficient connectivity and greater network resiliency in Mindanao and the rest of the country.

The LGU gladly accepted it, facilitated all our permits, ensured the security of the project and in a certain degree, validated the location of the cable landing station and the future data center. Our business is growing very well in Davao and I’m sure that this added capacity will be put to good use,” said Globe president and CEO Ernest Cu.

The SEA-US Cable system adds another layer of redundancy to the Globe network since it uses a different route to directly link Asia to the US for faster data transmission, more efficient connectivity and greater network resiliency bypassing disaster prone areas.

The system was built by a consortium of 7 international telecommunications companies and links five regions that include Manado (Indonesia), Davao (Philippines), Piti (Guam), Oahu (Hawaii, United States), and Los Angeles (California, United States).