Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City
27 September 2013

President Benigno S. Aquino III, together with Globe Telecom Chairman Jaime Zobel de Ayala, launched the Southeast Asia-Japan Submarine Cable (SJC) system. It is Globe’s US$400-million investment that will offer superior interconnectivity within the Philippines and other neighboring countries.

Spanning 9,000 kilometers underwater, 20 terabytes-per-second, and running over six fiber pairs, the SJC is one of the biggest cable systems in the world that can support simultaneous streaming of up to three million high-definition (HD) videos. It even boasts to download the entire content of the US Library of Congress in just 1.5 seconds.

In his message, President Aquino sees the technology as something that will not only heighten the people-to-people connectivity but will also bolster the country’s business process outsourcing industry. It will broaden access to government services such as Project NOAH (National Operational Assessment of Hazard), the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority and the Official Gazettes.

“Hand in hand with your ongoing Network Modernization Program, I am extremely confident that you will improve services even more. It makes me optimistic that, soon enough, other communications companies will follow suit and help provide the nation seamless and reliable connectivity,” he said.

Presently, the SJC System links seven countries: Brunei, mainland China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, and the Philippines, with the option to link with Thailand. The trans-Asian cable is now fully operational with data traffic, streaming an initial design capacity of 28 terabites-per-second deployed by six fiber pairs.

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