Dominant carrier Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) said it will launch Tuesday the Philippine leg of a $550-million fiber cable network that will connect the country to other Asian countries and parts of the United States.

The launching ceremonies will be held in the northern Philippine town of Bauang, La Union, with President Gloria Arroyo expected to attend, PLDT said in a statement.

Called the Asia-America Gateway (AAG), the 20,000-kilometer facility will connect the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei Darussalam, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Guam, Hawaii and the US West Coast.

“AAG will provide a welcome boost to BPOs (business process outsourcing firms), call centers and other growth industries that depend on advanced telecommunications services and thus further propel the country’s economic growth,” PLDT said.

AAG will help prevent service interruptions after earthquakes, it said.

PLDT is partly owned by the NTT group of Japan and Hong Kong-listed conglomerate First Pacific Co. Ltd.