Filipino operator Globe Telecom has extended its fibre optic network to the island of Coron in Palawan province, strengthening network coverage in a major tourist destination.
“The submarine fibre connection in Coron forms part of our efforts to boost network coverage and augment capacity given increasing demand for connectivity even while our customers are on vacation and to enhance overall network performance,” said Robert Tan, Globe chief technical adviser.
The Coron submarine cable system is a 62-kilometer fibre optic cable that branched off from the 270-kilometer fibre optic network between Mindoro and the main island of Palawan to serve the communication services of one the most popular tourist destinations in the country.
This is an upgrade from the existing microwave system to a more robust and reliable transmission system using fibre optic technology and dense wave division multiplexing (DWDM) system, designed to transmit 40 wavelengths at 40 gigabits per second capacity per fibre pair.
Tan said the Coron submarine cable system will power up cell sites with third generation or 3G and Evolved High-Speed Packet Access or HSPA+ connectivity and will readily support Long Term Evolution (LTE) services. It has a total transmission capacity of 9.6 terabits per second. The undersea cable system is also upgradable to a 100 gigabits per second DWDM system, giving the company flexibility in providing other network services.
The company’s network transformation program includes as a component the roll-out of about 12,000 kilometers of optical fibre lines nationwide.
