PLDT Enhances Domestic Backhaul With Ciena Technology

PLDT is bolstering its domestic backhaul infrastructure by deploying Ciena's 6,500 optical platform.

This enhancement connects the Asia Direct Cable (ADC) landing stations to users and data centres across the Philippines, providing higher-capacity and lower-latency transport for international traffic.

The project helps expand PLDT's transmission capabilities to manage increasing traffic from global cloud platforms.

The deployment of Ciena’s technology addresses the need for greater operational efficiency and network reliability as international bandwidth demands continue to grow.

It improves the national reach for cloud providers and large enterprises operating in the country, strengthening the digital infrastructure that underpins business and hyperscale applications.

Blums Pineda, Senior Vice President and Head of Enterprise Business Group at PLDT and Smart, says: “PLDT is committed to strengthening the country’s digital backbone by ensuring that the international capacity carried by the ADC system translates into world-class connectivity for users nationwide."

He adds: "With the support of Ciena’s optical technology, we can provide faster, more resilient and more secure services, powering the Philippines’ digital economy from individual users to enterprises and hyperscalers.

Ciena WaveLogic boosts national fibre backbone

Ciena’s WaveLogic 5 Extreme (WL5e) coherent optical technology is a key component of the deployment, enabling PLDT to carry multi-terabit traffic while maintaining low latency. This supports higher bandwidth requirements across both its fibre and cellular backbones.

The 6500 platform works in conjunction with the Navigator Network Control Suite (Navigator NCS), which simplifies network planning and provisioning.

This combination of hardware and software helps to accelerate the operational impact of the new infrastructure in both data centre and telecommunications environments.

By integrating Ciena’s software-driven suite, PLDT gains enhanced centralised management across core and edge network segments.

This can help ensure the consistency that cloud providers and hyperscalers require for their operations.

Matt Vesperman, Vice President for Asia Pacific at Ciena, says: “The Philippines is a key destination for many global cloud providers and enterprises seeking to expand their presence in Asia."

He adds: "Ciena’s market-leading optical technology provides a seamless connectivity link to advance international trade and digital transformation within the Philippines."

Linking traffic to AI-ready data centres

An important aspect of this network expansion is the connection of international traffic to PLDT’s flagship facilities, including the VITRO Santa Rosa (VSR) data centre.

Operated by VITRO Inc., the facility is positioned as the first AI-ready data centre in the Philippines. It links to other data centres in the ecosystem using Ciena’s Data Centre Interconnect (DCI) solutions.

VITRO’s DCI, powered by Ciena, provides secure, high-bandwidth links that allow enterprises to connect racks across multiple locations. This capability is important for optimising disaster recovery strategies and ensuring business continuity.

Supporting hyperscalers and enterprise growth

The direct connection of the ADC system to the VSR facility ensures that enterprises, hyperscalers and carriers can access robust connectivity.

This infrastructure is designed to support future operational and interconnection needs in a market increasingly shaped by cloud services.

The investment in ADC backhaul by PLDT’s Enterprise division is part of a broader strategy to scale the nation's digital infrastructure and provide secure connectivity for business customers.