PLDT MIGRATES BARANGAYS FROM COPPER TO FIBER

Telco giant PLDT Inc. said it had upgraded dozens of barangays using obsolete copper wires to fiber internet.

Under its “Fiber Barangay” program launched last April, PLDT said the migration from copper to fiber was fully implemented in 31 areas.

These barangays are in Baguio, Bicol, Bulacan, Cagayan, GenSan, Ilocos, Negros, North Manila, South Manila and Quezon.

“Our investment in fiber is crucial and continuous,” PLDT Inc. and Smart Communications president and CEO Alfredo S. Panlilio said in a statement.

Panlilio said the year-end target was to migrate 66 percent of its network to fiber.

“Complementing our fiber expansion is the ramp up of our fiber installation and repair capabilities despite the restricThe brought about by the pandemic,” Panlilio added.

As of June 20 this year, PLDT migrated more than 123,000 copper-based subscribers to fiber, giving users access to faster and more stable internet.

The program also involves the “cleanup” and recovery of copper lines. PLDT explained this also consisted of preventive maintenance activities, compliance with congressional bills as well as resolutions and ordinances from local governments and requiring utility companies to tidy up the country’s streets of sagging cables and tilting poles.

PLDT’s fiber optic network remains the most extensive in the country at over 478,000 kilometers as of end-March 2021.

Fiber upgrades were part of the company’s P88- to P92-billion capital spending budget for 2021. This also involves the expansion of its mobile network.