Solon lauds DICT, NTC, NGCP deal, sees it boosting growth of PH e-commerce industry
SEN. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III hailed the success of the agreement between the Department of Information and Communications Technology, the National Transmission Corp., and the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines on the use of dark fiber in the transmission grid.
Dark fiber is the unused portion of the fiber- optics in the transmission grid, the senator explained.
The deal, according to him, is “one step closer” that would allow Filipinos to have free Internet access.
“The implications for trade is enormous, as it will unlock a vast market that hitherto was unable to access the benefits of electronic commerce in the country,” Pimentel said.
The chairman of t he Senate trade, commerce and entrepreneurship committee said t he i nternet helps businesses reach consumers and empowers people to join entreneurship.
With the signing of “Ease of Doing Business” Act into law, he hopes it will spur the creation of more enterprises and i ncrease t he t rade volume of existing companies, Pimentel added.
“I expect a bigger pie for every Filipino entrepreneur to have a slice of. This is the power of the internet which the Duterte Administration has opened for the use of every Filipino,” Pimentel said.
The senator from Cagayan de Oro also expressed hope that the new law will make Philippine internet cheaper.
“While not intended as a competitor to the current telcos, the existence of a free alternative should bring prices down and the quality of service up,” he said.
Pimentel noted that the country is often cited as a case where consumers pay more for lower quality service of internet service providers./