Marcos: Submarine cable network project long-term solution to PH internet woes

President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. on Thursday expressed confidence with the submarine cable network project, saying the endeavor could be the long-term solution to the country’s interconnectivity issues.

Marcos graced the lighting up ceremony of the Philippine Domestic Submarine Cable Network (PDSCN) at The Peninsula Manila Hotel in Makati City.

''Because of this connection, we now find a long-term solution that delivers high-connectivity and high-speed internet for our people and facilitates the realization of the Bagong Pilipinas that we envision for our country,'' Marcos said in his speech.

''With this project, we will be able to better position our country as an even more attractive destination for technology-centric businesses such as hyperscale data centers and AI computing. We will also be able to provide faster internet [and] more efficient digital services to Filipinos located in both urban and rural areas of the country,'' he added. 

The PDSCN is an undersea fiber optic backbone network infrastructure spanning more than 2,500 kilometers that connects the Islands of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao with touch points in 21 provinces, including Quezon up to Zamboanga.  

The project aims to provide inclusive connectivity across the Philippines, particularly in underserved and unserved areas. It is a joint project of Globe Telecom, Eastern Telecom and InfiniVAN Inc. in coordination with the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT).  

Marcos said this would help facilitate the efforts to digitalize public data and government services to cater to the needs of our people efficiently.

''This same vision and foresight of our future with the PDSCN is shared by our Japanese friends and partners,'' Marcos said.

''Again, we would like to thank you for choosing to do business in our country and for making possible the much-needed high technology transfer that will allow us to be at par with our more advanced peers in today’s technology-driven global marketplace,'' he added.—RF, GMA Integrated News