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An 8.9 Richter Scale-magnitude earthquake that hit Japan Friday has technology experts weighing in on the temblor’s possible long- and short-term effects on technology in its many incarnations – from mobile, social networks and cloud computing to WiFi, mainframes and security. “Some communications may be disrupted, depending on issues such as where undersea cables reach the shores of Japan, where data centers are located in relation to the earthquake, or because people who manage data centers can’t do their jobs due to the disruption,” said tech pundit and Communicator CEO Andy Abramson, who specializes in VoIP and Internet-based communication systems.
However, business process outsourcing call centers in the Philippines to the United States were not affected by the recent and devastating earthquake in Japan, according to a statement by the Philippines’ largest telecommunications firm – Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT). There were minimal telecommunication problems across Asia after the earthquake, but PLDT was able to re-route their cable system called Asia-America Gateway (AAG) immediately and it is up and running 100% ever since.
The AAG is a multimillion dollar project made up of fiber optic cables that go thousands of kilometers – connecting numerous countries in Asia (including the Philippines) to Guam, Hawaii, and the US West Coast. “To ensure business continuity and vital resiliency particularly for our BPO and Philippines call center clients who are US-centric, the performance of AAG affirms the immense value of PLDT’s $50M investment in this critical cable system to ensure business continuity especially for our Enterprise customers,” said Jovy Hernandez, PLDT VP and Head of Corporate Business Group and SMART Enterprise Sales & Marketing. “We are deeply saddened by this tragedy, especially as PLDT has deep Japanese affiliation due to its relationship with NTT.”
