Telecommunications provider PLDT boosts its hyper-scale ecosystem with the groundbreaking of PLDT VITRO Sta. Rosa and the activation of the US-Transpacific Jupiter cable.

Overseas companies establishing data centers in the Philippines are proof that the industry is looking at the country as a potential hub at least in the Southeast Asian region.

“The Philippine data center colocation market is estimated to be worth $134 million this year. The sector will grow steadily at a 25% CAGR through 2027, mostly driven by the hyperscale market,” said Jabez Tan, head of Research for independent research firm Structure Research, at the Hyperscale Readiness and Capacity Outlook of the Philippines webinar.

PLDT activates US-Transpacific Jupiter cable to boost int’l network capacity
PLDT builds Meralco substation at VITRO data center to ensure operational up-time

Anticipating the demand, PLDT, through its ICT arm ePLDT, is in the process of building its 11th and largest hyperscale data center to date. VITRO Sta. Rosa is the first in a series of data center builds totaling a power capacity of 100MW.

“We continue to build new facilities to serve the market demand that comes with the digitalization of the country while expanding our capacities in existing sites such as VITRO Makati 2, Paranaque, and Clark,” said Amil Azurin, VP and head of Product Management for the Disruptive Business Group, PLDT Enterprise.

Network boost

As the country gears up its data center capacity, the need to boost the international network that connects to these facilities subsequently follows. Gary Ignacio, PLDT Enterprise VP and Head of Strategic Business Development Group, explained that the PLDT Group’s latest investment in the Jupiter Cable System supplements the upcoming VITRO Sta. Rosa, as both world-class infrastructures further reinforce the country as APAC’s next hyperscaler hub.

“Jupiter is now the fastest cable system between the Philippines and the United States. It will fortify the international cable network diversity for the country and triple PLDT’s existing international network capacity to about 60 Terabit/s while directing massive data to PLDT’s network of data centers,” Ignacio said. “PLDT commits to a world-class hyperscale ecosystem for the country. With the Jupiter cable system and the upcoming VITRO Sta. Rosa, we are confident that we are on our way to further accelerating the digitization of enterprises and creating more digital services and content for all Filipinos to enjoy,” Ignacio added.