PLDT out to sustain data center leadership

MANILA, Philippines — Telco leader PLDT Inc. is confident it can sustain its market leadership in the data center race by building the highest-rated facilities in the Philippines such as VITRO Sta. Rosa.

PLDT’s data center builder VITRO Inc. yesterday said its capabilities remain the best in storing the application and information of tech giants.

VITRO Sta. Rosa has been operating with a Tier 3 certification for design since 2023, making it one of the country’s most advanced data centers.

The facility is the country’s first data center ready to process artificial intelligence (AI) demands. VITRO Sta. Rosa – the 11th and largest in VITRO’s portfolio – is equipped with a capacity of 50 megawatts and 4,500 racks.

VITRO president and CEO Victor Genuino said the facility is proof of VITRO’s goal of putting up only the highest-rated facilities. He underscored the importance of data centers in this day and age, when everyone has to transact part of their daily activities online.

“(Hyperscale) by design and AI-ready by infrastructure, VITRO Sta. Rosa is where cloud and AI converge, giving enterprises an optimal environment where they can grow and innovate in the AI era,” Genuino said.

On top of this, Genuino said VITRO Sta. Rosa is built outside the hazard zones of Metro Manila to ensure uninterrupted operations even when disaster strikes the capital region.

The facility is also carrier-neutral, meaning it has access to the infrastructure networks of all the major providers in the Philippines.

PLDT chairman, president and CEO Manuel V. Pangilinan said enterprises can expect VITRO to keep on building new data centers for future demand. He added VITRO is working on expanding its capabilities to prepare the country for the AI boom.

“Our goal has always been to position the Philippines as a digital and AI hub. With VITRO Sta. Rosa and our broader data center ecosystem, we are building the infrastructure backbone needed to power industries, accelerate AI adoption and drive long-term progress,” Pangilinan said.

In April, Pangilinan said VITRO is planning to establish another data center, a P40-billion facility in General Trias, Cavite.

The tycoon said the company wants to generate as much as 500 MW of capacity for information storage, five times its current volume of 100 MW.