PLDT announced that it is enhancing web caching for Internet traffic in its data centers in the country as part of its response to the continuous increase in demand for rich content. The Group currently operates 6 data center facilities with a current total capacity of over 3,200 racks. Two more data centers will be operational by first half of 2016, which will raise the Group’s total capacity to over 8,000 racks, said PLDT.
According to PLDT, about 95% of the web content accessed by Filipinos are sourced overseas, primarily North America and to a lesser extent Europe. At the same time, Filipinos’ Internet habits are shifting towards multimedia content, particularly high-definition streaming video, which are much more bandwidth-heavy than other web traffic. As a result, the required international cable capacity to carry the growing multimedia traffic from abroad is rising rapidly. To cater for this, PLDT is periodically building additional international cable capacity to stay ahead of the soaring demand for multimedia content.
The Operator has also announced that it has initiated discussions with Globe Telecom for an Internet Protocol (IP) peering arrangement as part of the operator's program to improve local Internet linkages, and raise the quality of Internet services in the country. PLDT said that it has submitted a draft proposal based on internationally accepted peering practices, and is in active discussions with Globe.
Ernesto R. Alberto, PLDT executive vice president for Enterprise and International Business and president and CEO of ePLDT
Local peering will help improve the web experience of Internet users in the country by keeping local traffic local. That is why we struck an agreement with DOST and why we are pursuing another one with Globe.
