Japanese telco bags lease for Poro Point cable station

InfiniVAN Inc. and Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) officially signed a lease agreement on March 11, 2026 at BCDA Central Office, BGC, Taguig, marking another step forward in digital advancement in the country. The signing was attended by key leaders, including Koji Miyashita, CEO and President of IPS Inc.; Shigeki Nakahara, President of InfiniVAN Inc.; Alejandro A. Aquino, IPS Group Advisor for Strategic Partnerships and Business Development; Valenbert Juan, Chief Finance Officer of InfiniVAN Inc; Engr. Joshua M Bingcang, President and Chief Executive Officer of BCDA; Atty. Hilario B. Paredes, Chairperson of BCDA. —INFINIVAN/WEBSITE

A Japanese telecommunications company has secured a long-term lease agreement to develop the Poro Point Cable Landing Station in La Union into an open gateway for international subsea cables.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) said it had signed an agreement with InfiniVAN covering the Poro Point facility and related assets under the Luzon Bypass Infrastructure.

Spanning a 240-kilometer fiber corridor that links Baler, Aurora to San Fernando, La Union, the Luzon Bypass Infrastructure is a collaboration among BCDA, the Department of Information and Communications Technology and Meta. The latter is the parent company of Facebook and Instagram.

With the InfiniVAN partnership, the Poro Point facility will operate as an open cable landing station. This would enable multiple undersea cable systems to land there, while domestic network providers can colocate their equipment.

More operators

This setup is designed to accommodate two additional subsea cable operators and encourage more competition in international connectivity, the BCDA said.

The Luzon Bypass project includes two cable landing stations, four repeater stations and supporting terrestrial facilities. The DICT oversees operations.

“This partnership with InfiniVAN’s nationwide fiber-optic network will expand access and service coverage, help lower the cost of internet services for enterprises and households, and accelerate the country’s digital transformation,” BCDA president and CEO Joshua Bingcang said.

InfiniVAN will also operate the upcoming Baler Cable Landing Station under the same open model. The Baler site will serve as a landing point for the CANDLE submarine cable system, a 24-fiber-pair intra-Asia cable with an estimated capacity of 570 terabits per second that is expected to become operational in 2028.

InfiniVAN chair Koji Miyashita said integrating the Poro Point facility into the company’s backbone network would allow subsea cable capacity landing on northwest Luzon to be distributed more efficiently to optical hubs across the country.

“This East–West connectivity will play a vital role in ensuring the resiliency and security of the nation’s communications infrastructure,” Miyashita said in a statement.

The Luzon Bypass Infrastructure is set to run through 2044, with an option to renew the arrangement for another 25 years.