Is Philippines’ laws on underwater cables lagging behind its digital hub goal?

The Philippines’ telco industry wants the country to become a regional digital hub anchored by stable underwater cables, but a leading executive and analysts warn that slow approvals for repairs, limited monitoring and fragmented official oversight could undermine the ambition.At a forum on archipelagic governance for subsea cables, PLDT, the Philippines’ largest telecommunications company, called for greater cooperation among government agencies and further reforms to expand the vital digital nodes connecting the country to the world.While the Philippines’ strategic location in Asia-Pacific presented an opportunity for it to be a key connection point for submarine cables, it would need to invest in high-value assets and simplify approvals for cable deployment and repair work, Albert Villa-Real, president and CEO of PLDT-global" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="219532" data-entity-type="organization">PLDT Global, said at the forum on September 29, according to a report by the Philippine Star.“The Philippines should not think of itself simply as the end point of these international cables. Our ambition should be to become a major digital crossroad of Asia-Pacific,” he added.PLDT is connected to subsea cable networks, including the Apricot Cable System, which runs across the Asia-Pacific, and the Jupiter Cable System, which links to Japan and the United States.Villa-Real stressed the importance of undersea cables in an archipelagic country such as the Philippines, which has more than 7,600 islands, saying that fibre lines would have to run underwater to provide connectivity that businesses needed to invest in various systems.However, multiple permits are required before specialised vessels handling cable repairs can enter local waters, which impedes such works, according to Villa-Real.