Globe Telecom Inc. on Thursday bared the laying and construction of two more submarine cable landing stations on the eastern and western coasts of the country to meet the data requirements of hyperscalers.
The Ayala-led telco said the landing stations can accommodate submarine cables coming into the country providing various means of connectivity such as voice, data, and Internet.
Globe earlier joined the consortium planning the $300-million Asia Link Cable system (ALC), an international subsea cable expected to boost connectivity capabilities as Globe shifts to a digital solutions platform.
The trans-Asian subsea cable system stretching over 6,000 kilometers will interconnect the Philippines, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Brunei, providing additional capacity to cater to traffic within Asia and boost resiliency for international traffic.
Globe is eyeing Luna, La Union as landing station. It currently operates cable landing stations in Ballesteros in Cagayan, Nasugbu, Batangas, and Brgy. Taloma in Davao City.
Globe also invested in various Asian and Trans-Pacific cables, making Globe’s network resilient and diverse in delivering seamless connectivity and services to customers.
Ernest Cu, Globe Group president and chief executive, said the Philippines has the potential to be the next data center hub in Southeast Asia.
Cu said the country is strategically positioned to capitalize on the shifting dynamics in the region. With Hong Kong’s geopolitical situation and Singapore’s capacity limitations, the Philippines is increasingly seen as an attractive location for hyperscalers.
“Location-wise, we are in the middle of Southeast Asia, not far from most capitals in the ASEAN. With the added connectivity, with the added data center capacity, we believe that the Philippines will become a great alternative now for the many hyperscalers that have to serve the region,” said Cu.
In catering to the hyperscalers, Globe has taken proactive steps through ST Telemedia Global Data Centres (Philippines), a joint venture between Globe, Ayala Corporation and Singapore-based ST Telemedia Global Data Centres (STT GDC).
“We started off by looking for a very capable partner in STT GDC. They share our vision and optimism about the market, and so we’re building our data centers that will be located throughout the Philippines. The largest of these centers will be in Fairview, Quezon City expected to be online in the first quarter of 2025,” he said.
According to Cu, the construction of the Fairview site is progressing as planned. With a capacity of 124MW, it is touted as the largest, most interconnected, sustainable, and carrier-neutral data center campus in the country when completed.
Earlier, STT GDC Philippines also bared aggressive expansion plans across three existing data centers located in Makati, Cavite, and Quezon City.
With a combined capacity expansion of 5.2MW set for the third quarter of this year, the company is poised to surpass the capacity of most single data centers in the country.
