PLDT Assures Measures in Place to Reduce Impact of Undersea Cable Upkeep
By Gabriel Pabico Lalu, Inquirer.net
September 23, 2020
MANILA, Philippines — Telecommunications company PLDT Inc. has assured customers that it has put in place measures to minimize the effects of its scheduled emergency maintenance activities on an undersea cable.
PLDT said in a post on its social media accounts on Wednesday that maintenance activities on the Asian American Gateway (AAG) — which includes one of PLDT’s international cable systems — would take place from 8:00 a.m., September 25 (Friday), to 5:00 a.m., September 30 (Wednesday).
The AAG is a 20,000-kilometer submarine cable system linking countries in Southeast Asia to Hong Kong, then Guam, to Hawaii, and eventually the United States’ East Coast. It was the first submarine cable system to directly connect the US to Southeast Asia.
“Emergency maintenance activities will be conducted on the Asian American Gateway (AAG), one of PLDT’s international cable systems, from Friday, 25 September 2020 8:00 a.m. to Wednesday, 30 September 2020 5:00 a.m. (Philippine Standard Time),” PLDT said.
“We would like to assure PLDT and Smart Communications, Inc. subscribers that measures have been put in place to minimize this activity’s impact. We shall provide regular updates as the operation progresses, we thank you for your understanding,” it added.
The cable, which was laid out under the sea in November 2009, undergoes regular maintenance to ensure that data connection is up to normal and acceptable speeds. Its maximum capacity is pegged at 1.92 terabits per second.