Phl digital backbone creation sought

The Philippines is at a pivotal moment in its digital expansion, but industry leaders say competing network silos must give way to a coordinated national approach if the country is to realize its goal of becoming a regional hub for connectivity and cloud services.

That vision of shared infrastructure was the focus of a breakout session at the 2025 Globe Business G Summit, where executives called on the industry to work in sync rather than compete for territory.

The session, “Unlocking Powerful Connections to Fuel the Future of Philippine Infrastructure,” challenged the status quo, arguing that traditional models are no longer sufficient to meet the nation's urgent demand for speed, reliability and reach.

Cocoy Claravall, vice president of Globe Business’ Wholesale Division, outlined the company’s strategy for a more unified infrastructure. The roadmap includes new Festoon fiber loops in Luzon, expanded subsea capacity via the Philippine Domestic Submarine Cable Network (PDSCN) and the Asia Link Cable. Central to this effort is a focus on reach and transparency.

"Our role has expanded. We’re no longer just connecting endpoints anymore," Claravall said. "We’re enabling ecosystems from subsea to cloud, from enterprise to end user. And that means building infrastructure that’s flexible and future-ready.”

Globe is implementing the Managed Optical Fiber Network (MOFN), a model that allows carriers and hyperscalers to tailor their connections while benefiting from a managed service. Globe also discussed ProAssure, a proactive platform designed to preempt technical issues.

Kian Soon Wong, Ciena's head of Sales Engineering in ASEAN, provided a technical perspective on the MOFN model, noting it allows clients to scale on demand, choose their own equipment and monitor network health in real time, with the operator handling the heavy lifting of deployment and maintenance.

“MOFN is about balance,” Wong explained. “It gives customers control without the operational burden, and gives operators like Globe a way to deliver more agile services. It’s a collaboration model—not just a tech solution.”

From the data center perspective, Carlo Malana, CEO of STT GDC Philippines, highlighted the country’s growing traction as a hyperscale destination, citing STT GDC’s Cavite and Fairview campuses as proof that hyperscalers are deploying artificial intelligence and cloud workloads in the country.

“The runway is long and the momentum is building,” Malana said. “Philippine infrastructure is no longer aspirational, it’s operational. The question now is how we scale that responsibly and fast enough to meet demand.”

KD Dizon, head of Globe Business, emphasized that the shift is a national necessity, not just a commercial opportunity.

“Infrastructure is more than physical assets, it’s about trust, alignment, and the will to build beyond our individual interests,” Dizon said. “If we want real digital progress in the Philippines, we need to co-create the grid that will carry it.”

The session concluded with a "Disruptor Dialogue" underscoring the clear message: seamless interconnection, policy alignment and joint investments across multiple players are essential for the Philippines to compete in the global market. The future of Philippine infrastructure must be approached as a shared national grid.