NGCP nearing deal to participate in national broadband plan

NATIONAL Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) said it is preparing to formalize an agreement with the government on the use of the power grid operator’s fiber optic network for the national broadband program.

In a statement on Tuesday, NGCP said it had been chosen as a partner by the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) for the program, which it described as bringing the country’s average internet speed closer to those of “first-world countries.”

“NGCP is pleased to be chosen by the government, through the DICT, to be its partner in the national broadband network project. We are fully supporting this program and its expedited implementation,” said Henry T. Sy, Jr., NGCP president and chief executive officer.

Privately-owned NGCP said its fiber optic cables, which cover 6,154 kilometers or 160,779 fiber kilometers, will be the primary network of the program that aims to bring wi-fi connections all over the country.

“We are aware that well-connected nations, such as South Korea and Sweden, enable a fast-paced exchange of knowledge and information needed to further propel our country’s growth,” Mr. Sy said.

The company said the unused portion of its cables “will help ease the infrastructure burden faced by DICT as it can piggyback on NGCP’s existing network.” It said the cables are primarily used for internal communication.

“NGCP maintains, however, that there is still a need for the government to provide last-mile connections and telecommunications-grade redundancies, to deliver services to the end-users,” it said.

Mr. Sy said since the company took over power transmission services it had made “significant upgrades to outdated telecommunication facilities inherited” from National Transmission Corp., the state agency that owns the country’s power transmission assets.

He said NGCP, in line with its mandate, had upgraded to ensure reliable power transmission services through efficient communication — internally and with its customers.

“Because of these improvements, we can welcome a partnership for the national broadband program without compromising our primary function as grid operator and transmission service provider. Our government partners can be assured of NGCP’s full cooperation to implement this program as soon as possible,” Mr. Sy said. —