NTT WE Marine tapped for last leg of $150-M cable project

Globe Telecom Inc., together with Eastern Communications and Japan-affiliated telco InfiniVAN Inc, commissioned NTT World Engineering Marine Corp. (NTT WE Marine) for the last leg of the $150-million Philippine Domestic Submarine Cable Network (PDSCN) project.

NTT WE Marine will land and lay cables in the project’s nine remaining segments covering 13 sites until April this year through cable ship Subaru.

In 2021, PDSCN tapped state-of-the-art ship Cable Infinity from Japanese vendor Kokusai Cable Ship Co. Ltd. to connect 15 segments across the country via fiber.

“With the final phase of the PDSCN in motion, we take a major step towards our goal of nation-building through digitalization,” Globe Group President and CEO Ernest Cu announced Wednesday February 1.

“We are committed to completing the project, a crucial step towards bridging the digital divide and providing equitable and reliable connectivity, essential for the economic and social development of our country,” he added.

PDSCN, which covers a total cable distance of 2,500 kms, kicked off in July last year in a bid to bring fiber connectivity to previously unserved and underserved areas.

As it continues cable landings this year, PDSCN will cover Calatrava, Romblon; Pasacao, Camarines Sur; Bulan, Sorsogon; Calbayog City, Samar; Palanas, Masbate; Mactan, Cebu; Maasin City, Southern Leyte; Claver, Surigao del Norte; Kinoguitan, Misamis Oriental; Camiguin; Dipolog, Zamboanga del Norte; Liloy, Zamboanga del Norte; and Zamboanga City, Zamboanga del Sur.

NTT WE Marine, established in 1998, has a branch in the Philippines and offices in Nagasaki and Yokohama, Japan.

Aside from Subaru, other cable-laying vessels of NTT WE Marine include Kizuna, Orion, and Vega.