Byline: Emmie V. Abadilla

Subic Telecommunications Company Inc. (SubicTel), a subsidiary of Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., has just completed its P210-million state-of-the-art fiber optic connection meant to pave the way for new investors in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone.

The project was completed through PLDT's investment to expand its nationwide Domestic Fiber Optic Network (DFON) to Subic with 286 kilometers of fiber optic cables.

This DFON expansion has also allowed SubicTel to upgrade and enhance the Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) network in the Freeport Zone for more reliable high-speed broadband services.

It is a welcome development for the critical communications needs of locators in the area, SubicTel General Manager Henry Abes pointed out. "We will now be able to address the needs of existing and potential customers much more quickly."

The first leg of the new fiber optic connection was completed when the operations center of Korean shipbuilding firm Hanjin, which is investing $1.7 billion for its shipyard, was connected from Redondo Peninsula in Subic to SubicTel in the Freeport Zone in late July.

The Hanjin fiber optic link spans about 25 kilometers, passing through Subic town and Olongapo City in Zambales province. Hanjin is now directly connected to its headquarters in Korea by way of PLDT's international link.

With the activation of the P210-million project this month, locators in the Freeport Zone will have faster data connectivity.

The DFON is the country's most extensive fiber optic network, a key enabler of PLDT's cuttingedge services for retail and corporate customers.

Also, SubicTel's connection to DFON will not just enable the firm to provide better quality services but bundled voice, data and video as well.

"With this fiber optic connection, we can now offer new services that are quicker to deploy and more efficient in terms of network usage," Abes added.

The network expansion project spans 286 kilometers of fiber optic cables that form several redundant loops covering Angeles, Clark, Porac, San Fernando, Guagua, Lubao and Floridablanca in Pampanga, and Dinalupihan in Bataan, Subic Town in Zambales, and Subic Bay Freeport Zone in Olongapo.

The fiber backhaul connectivity has multi-loops to provide redundancy in case of fiber breaks. IP Radio facilities for additional redundancy have also been installed.

"Redundancy is very important for locators in Subic .

Avoiding costly service disruptions is foremost in their minds," Abes explained. "With the completion of this project, Subic Bay Freeport Zone will now become a much more attractive haven for investors in ICT and BPOs."

Earlier this year, SubicTel connected another 45-Mbps bandwidth pipe from PLDT, doubling last year's bandwidth capacity. This will increase bandwidth capacity to 2.5 Gigabits per second (Gbps) or STM-16 to meet the increasing demands of customers.

The 2.5 Gbps bandwidth is enough for 30,240 simultaneous voice calls.