PLDT expands fiber rollout in Mindanao

PLDT, Inc. is expanding its fiber rollout in Mindanao as part of efforts to deliver “ultra-fast” Internet connection to over four million homes nationwide by the end of the year.

The telecommunications giant said over the weekend it rolled out fiber- to- the- home ( FTTH) facilities in General Santos City, making it the first “Fibr City” project in Mindanao, where homes and enterprises alike are expected to experience “superfast” connectivity.

This comes after a Fibr City was launched in Toledo City, Cebu last month which was meant to expand PLDT’s fiber coverage in the central Philippines.

With a footprint of around 2.8 million homes passed as of end 2016, PLDT said it is further expanding the reach of its FTTH network by about 80% to 4.4 million homes passed by end 2016, making available the “ultra- fast” Internet connection nationwide.

PLDT First Vice-President and Head of Home Operations Oscar A. Reyes, Jr. said the “robust export industry and burgeoning medium to large enterprises,” as well the growing and diverse population of General Santos fits the profile of a “Fibr City.”

“PLDT Home Fibr will provide GenSan’s residents with the platform, the power and the connection they need to take advantage of the vast opportunities in these rapidly evolving digital times. This rollout is part of our ongoing expansion plans with the end goal of giving Filipinos all over the country access to the strongest connections at home,” Mr. Reyes added.

The FTTH rollout will address the growing data connectivity needs of the whole Soccsksargen region, composed of South Cotabato, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and Sarangani. The network giant said residents here can now experience equal upload and download speeds of up to one Gigabit per second, and gain unique access to compelling entertainment and gaming content from PLDT Home partners and renowned providers like iflix, Netflix, Fox+, and iWant TV, among others. —