Palace approves broadband network plan in Cabinet meeting

PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte on Monday approved the establishment of a national broadband system that would provide connectivity to areas not served by commercial telco players, according to a Cabinet Secretary who was present at the meeting.

In a social media post, Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol said Mr. Duterte gave the go signal for the Department of Information and Communications Technology’s national broadband project during yesterday’s Cabinet meeting at Malacañang.

“After a presentation made by Dept. of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Secretary Rodolfo Salalima, Pres. Duterte emphasized the need for faster communications,” Mr. Piñol said in his post.

“Pres. Duterte earlier said he would like DICT ‘to develop a national broadband plan to accelerate the deployment of fiber optics cables and wireless technologies to improve Internet speed,’” he added.

DICT Secretary Rodolfo A. Salalima has said the department submitted the plan to the President last month. The department expects a national broadband system to be up and running within the term of the President which ends in 2022.

“We can start this year, maybe by the first half. Once the President says proceed, then we will start,” the DICT chief added.

The broadband network plan is a “working physical infrastructure” — which the government intends to use to reach parts of the countryside not serviced by commercial telcos. Since the system is “hybrid” however, the infrastructure could be rented out and “services of the telcos, including their physical components, may also be tapped as part of that broadband plan, whatever is more cost-eff icient for the government.”

Mr. Salalima earlier said the department submitted to the Office of the President on Oct. 3 a proposal detailing three options for the national broadband network: the first option is putting up a “purely physical infrastructure in the countryside, where the services of a telco will be needed; the hybrid option two — which he personally recommended and the DICT decided to submit. The third option is for the government to become a third-party operator.

The DICT expects to complete the implementation of the broadband plan in “three to five years,” although availability of existing government assets like the rightof-way of the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) could fast-track the project.

“It could start running in a year even if it’s not yet complete ... but at least there’s already broadband,” Mr. Salalima added.

Assuming that the government will start its national broadband network project — to serve the requirements of government and areas in the countryside unreached by the telcos — from scratch, the cost could come in anywhere between P77 billion and P200 billion.

The project, flagged by DICT as one of its priorities, follows the $329.5-million National Broadband Network deal with China’s state-owned Zhong Xing Telecommunications (ZTE) Corp., which was abandoned in 2007 due to a corruption scandal.

A national broadband plan is expected to address public demand for faster and affordable Internet.

Mr. Salalima has said there are many possible partners, funders, service providers, and suppliers expressing interest in the project.

In November, he noted that the “two biggest” Chinese firms have approached the DICT for the project.

The Philippines continues to lag the Asia- Pacific in terms of Internet connection speed. The latest Akamai report showed the Philippines ranked second to last among economies in the region, recording a 4.2 megabits per second (mbps) average connection speed in the July to August period, only higher than India’s 4.1 mbps — the slowest among the 15 economies measured in the Asia-Pacific. Globally, South Korea recorded the fastest average connection speed with 26.3 mbps.

Internet service in the Philippines is also one of the most expensive in the world, averaging $18 (P840)/mbps compared to the global average of $5 (P230)/mbps. —