PLDT advocates public-private partnerships, use of tech to expand country's digital infrastructure

Leading integrated telco company PLDT, Inc. (PLDT) expresses support for a tighter collaboration between the private and public sectors to connect more Filipinos nationwide.

Helming this push is the Private Sector Advisory Council (PSAC), which was formed by Sabin Aboitiz upon instructions of the President. PLDT, through its President and CEO Alfredo S. Panlilio, joins this council as among the members of the Digital Infrastructure pillar.

“We are honored to be part of this esteemed body. We look forward to boosting its initiatives and striving together to achieve our common goals of empowering Filipinos and driving the country's economic ambitions,” Panlilio said.

Panlilio added that their group under the Digital Infrastructure pillar recently met with the President to present their recommendations. “On top of those items is connectivity for more of the population. We in the private sector can help use technology to reach as many Filipinos as we can. We can use schools and barangay centers as community Wi-Fi halls to reach more students. As our Chairman MVP would always say, you cannot leave any learner behind,” Panlilio said.

“We support the President's aspiration to digitalize the country, including the delivery of government services,” he said, noting that the e-Government is also among the government's top priorities.

PLDT has been a longtime supporter of the country's digital transformation. The PLDT Group continues to invest in its network, having spent Php518.5 billion for the last 10 years up to 2021. In the first half of the year, PLDT has expanded its nationwide fiber infrastructure to 837,900 kilometers as of end-June. This fiber infrastructure supports Smart's mobile network, whose 3G, 4G/LTE and 5G networks cover 97% of the population as of end-June.

PLDT is also accelerating its readiness in capacity, capabilities and infrastructure in order to position the country as the Asia-Pacific region’s preferred hyperscaler destination through the construction of its eleventh and largest hyperscale data center to-date—the VITRO Sta. Rosa. VITRO Sta. Rosa, with a total power capacity of 50MW, is the first in the series of planned hyperscale Data Center builds to total over 100MW. Designed to be Tier-3 certified and Tier-4 ready with the highest level of network diversity and resilience, VITRO Sta. Rosa will host the country’s richest internet ecosystem and premiere internet exchanges, making it the most ideal location for Availability Zones and Points-of-Presence of hyperscalers, as well as for critical systems of Enterprises.