Along with Toledo and Mactan, the four entry sites of Cebu will be linked to the Philippines’ largest undersea fiber cable network and serve as the province’s main connectivity highway. This will ultimately bolster up the entire region’s connectivity needs, especially during the onslaught of natural disasters like Typhoon Odette.
By making ICT solutions more available to Cebuanos, the joint project with partners Globe and InfiniVAN Inc. aims to reinforce strong connectivity for local businesses in Cebu. The PDSCN cable laying in the province was met with a ceremonial cable-pulling activity at Dusit Thani Hotel Mactan, attended by Lapu-Lapu City officials including Vice Mayor Celsi Sitoy, and councilors Jeorgen Eyas, Celestino Aying, Susan Baring, Joseph Pangatungan, Jun Alforque, and Montor Tatoy.
The project, according to Sitoy, is in line with the program developed by Mayor Ahong Chan intended to drive their city’s flight to success: “The thrust of the Lapu-Lapu City government is to make this city a premier tourist city in the Philippines. And we have to be connected to the entire nation, including our neighbors from afar and abroad. The city government welcomes this project [and] we need to have this done as soon as possible.”
Larger Infrastructure Opportunities
The ICT solutions provider continues its commitment to heightening its network resiliency in Cebu when it previously set its eyes on the city during its first expansion project in Mactan last 2018. At present, Eastern Communications shows full support for the city’s enterprise sector by maintaining staunch partnerships with major Cebu business organizations such as Cebu Chamber of Commerce & Industry (CCCI), Cebu IT-BPM Organization (CIB.O), Cebu Hotel IT Association (CHITA), Mactan Export Processing Zone Chamber of Exporters and Manufacturers (MEPZCEM), and others.
Cebu is also ripe with potential as it saw the recent opening of Cebu–Cordova Link Expressway (CCLEX) and the lineup of multibillion infrastructure projects in the province like the PDSCN.
Eastern Communications Co-Coordinator Atty. Aileen Regio shared in her address that with the assistance of the local authorities, the project will establish Cebu’s competitive advantage and draw further investment, which will help the region’s growing SMEs and surge in tourism, “We have been partners with a lot of business organizations in Cebu and are very fortunate that we have seen the development of the province, including Mactan and Lapu-Lapu, firsthand. As of late, we’ve heard of many new and major projects in terms of infrastructure in the region like CCLEX and other multibillion projects. We are hoping that the PDSCN will be just like all these projects and will be catering to the advancement and further the economic development of the region and the province itself.”
Eastern Communications’ impeding expansion in Cebu likewise strives to support the IT-BPM industry, which makes up 67.3% of the province’s office market economy. In fact, the office market in Cebu has been found to be stable due to the large demand of IT-BPM sector for office spaces, which boosts the employment rate in the Visayas capital. Regio also added that the project will benefit more industries other than IT-BPM, like the SMEs, tourism and hospitality sectors.
As of this date, PDSCN has landed in 10 sites: Lucena City, Boac in Marinduque, Calatrava in Romblon, Placer in Masbate, Iloilo City, Bacolod City, Roxas City, Siargao Island in Surigao del Norte, Palompon in Leyte, and most recently, in Talisay, Cebu and Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu.
“With the PDSCN and Eastern Communications landing here in Cebu, we bring improved connectivity, improved bandwidth, increased competition, and better services. With all of these, we see the province’s accelerated digital transformation and this will benefit its residents, businesses, organizations, and also the government,” said Eastern Communications Co-coordinator Vince Tempongko.
Tempongko also shared Eastern’s excitement in completing the project, and how it brings them closer to their objective of having a globally competitive and fiber-powered Philippines. The $150-million project is slated for completion in April 2023. Fiber connections will be activated thereafter.