Include telco

DICT chief wants telco infra in 'Build, Build, Build'

MANILA -- Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Acting Secretary Eliseo Rio said that telecommunication infrastructure should also be included in the "Build, Build, Build" program of the administration.

In a press briefing Wednesday, Rio said the Philippine government must support the growth of the information technology and business process outsourcing (IT-BPO) industry, a major dollar-earner for the country and backs the gross domestic product expansion.

He added that the IT-BPO sector is moving towards artificial intelligence system that would require “very fast and very expensive internet connectivity”.

“We have to build infrastructure. The ICT infrastructure in this country is almost all privately funded, almost no government investment for that, unlike our neighboring countries where the government really invested on telecommunication and information infrastructure, So, we are going to put that in the Build Build Build Program of this government,” the DICT chief said.

Rio said the government should invest in international gateway and backbone telecommunication infrastructures, while the middle mile and last mile components will be made available to small telco players, and not to the two major telco firms in the country. He mentioned that the middle mile and last mile components shall be distributed to small telco players, which have subscribers and have strong presence in rural areas.

He added that government investments on ICT infrastructure will improve internet connectivity in rural areas and would allow these areas to host IT-BPO players that would create jobs in the countryside.

The Duterte administration eyes to spend PHP8 trillion to PHP9 trillion for its Build Build Build Program, investing on infrastructure projects throughout the country. Most of these infrastructures are roads, bridges, seaports, airports, and transport infrastructure at end-March, among others, but has yet to include ICT facilities.