Globe Telecom Inc is poised to significantly boost the country’s global connectivity with its entry into the Candle Cable System, a major subsea network across Asia, a report by BMI said.
The high-capacity cable project is expected to deliver faster, more reliable internet by directly linking the Philippines to key regional hubs including Taiwan, Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore—strengthening the country’s bid to become a digital powerhouse in Asia-Pacific.
The BMI said the system will play a critical role in handling surging international data traffic fueled by artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and 5G adoption, while also improving infrastructure resilience despite geopolitical risks.
First announced in late 2025, the Candle Cable System is being developed with major industry players such as SoftBank and Meta, alongside other regional partners.
Globe, a key investor and landing station partner, will connect the cable to its Nasugbu facility by 2028. The move is expected to significantly enhance service quality and position the company to capture rising demand for enterprise data and cloud services.
The initiative also aligns with the government’s push for digital transformation and a “cloud-first” policy, reinforcing efforts to modernize the country’s digital backbone.
While the Philippines currently lags some regional peers in digital readiness, BMI noted that strong demand and supportive policies are driving rapid growth. The cloud market is projected to surge in the coming years, alongside a near doubling of data center capacity.
“These trends underscore an urgent need for high-capacity connectivity,” BMI said, pointing to subsea cables, fiber networks, and 5G rollout as critical investments to cement the Philippines’ status as an emerging regional digital hub.
