Huawei Marine announced the kick-off of Phase two of its Sorsogon-Samar Submarine Fiber Optical Interconnection Project (SSSFOIP) for the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP). The SSSFOIP system is located in the San Bernardino Strait, linking Sorsogon, the southernmost province on Luzon to the island of Samar.

The transmission network between Sorsogon and Samar was built in 1997 and is a key branch of the Philippines' grid.

The current microwave technology requires upgrading due to its limited bandwidth and vulnerability to weather conditions.

The NGCP held a public tender in 2016 to invest in building a new cable system to enhance branch network data exchange capabilities to meet the increasing bandwidth demand and enhance management level of the national grid.

The SSSFOIP submarine cable project was tendered in two phases, both of which were awarded to Huawei Marine.

The first phase survey was completed in 2016.

Phase two features a submarine cable with a 12.8Tb/s design capacity that will be completed in Q3 2018.

The system will adopt an HA (Heavy Armor) submarine cable designed to achieve high reliability and stability.

National Grid Corporation senior manager Ferdinand A. Dicon says, “The transmission line between Sorsogon-Samar is an important branch of the network for the country.

“During the first phase of exploration, Huawei Marine demonstrated their project delivery capabilities and experience as a world-class turnkey submarine cable supplier.

“We believe that in the second phase of construction, Huawei Marine will successfully deploy their leading-edge product technology with their customer focus support services.

The SSSFOIP project is the first grid project for Huawei Marine, which is of special significance for to Huawei.

Based on the results of the first phase of exploration, they will deploy the latest technology to build a fit-for-purpose communication network which will transform the NGCP's network capabilities.