PLDT announced an investment in the Asia-Africa-Europe 1 (AAE-1) submarine cable system through a partner in the consortium that owns the fiber optic cable linking Asia, Africa, and Europe.

PLDT is investing an initial P500 million in the 25,000-kilometer international cable system.

“The AAE-1 cable system will further reinforce the resiliency of PLDT’s overseas links, expand the capacity and enhance the quality of our data and internet connections. This will enable us to deliver even higher quality service to our customers,” said Kat Luna-Abelarde, PLDT FVP and head of International and Carrier Business and president and CEO of PLDT Global Corp.

“It will further accelerate PLDT’s digital pivot and expansion, allowing it to serve more customers not only in the country but in the continents of Asia, Africa, and Europe, as well.”

The AAE-1 cable system, in tandem with the other international cable systems that land in the Philippines, will connect the country to 19 international destinations, namely, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Myanmar, India, Pakistan, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Djibouti, Yemen, Egypt, Greece, Italy, and France.

“This submarine infrastructure, with its state-of-the-art 100 Gigabits per second transmission technology and deployed with minimum design capacity of 40 Terabits per second, will reinforce PLDT’s international links to Europe and the Middle East via its Point-of-Presence (PoP) facilities in Hong Kong and Singapore. It will also provide new network diversity and resiliency in these regions,” said Gene Sanchez PLDT International Network VP.

The new cable system will become part of PLDT’s global network of 15 international cable systems, including four which land in the Philippines.