Philippine operators PLDT and Globe have commenced discussions over an IP peering arrangement to help improve the quality of internet services in the nation.
PLDT announced it has submitted a draft proposal for the arrangement based on international peering arrangements, and is now negotiating on the details.
The company's CEO Ernesto R Alberto said the move is part of a series of initiatives being taken to improve internet performance in the Philippines.
Last month, the company reached an agreement with the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) to provide fiber facilities linking PLDT to the department's Philippine Open Internet Exchange (PHOpenIX).
“Local peering will help improve the web experience of Internet users in the country by keeping local traffic local. That is why we struck an agreement with DOST and why we are pursuing another one with Globe,” he said.
“But we need to combine this effort with other initiatives to really have a substantial and sustained impact on the internet experience of our customers,” he added, noting that 95% of the web content accessed by Filipinos are sourced from overseas, particularly from North America.
PLDT is also building international cable capacity to stay ahead of the growing demand for web content, and has implemented local caching of popular overseas content across six data centers.
Philippine internet users have been increasingly demanding Globe and PLDT implement local IP peering to address the market's notoriously slow internet speeds. Regulator NTC has meanwhile faced pressure to impose more regulations to address the issue.