PH to fast-track national broadband network
One of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s priorities during his State of the Nation Address (SONA) was to improve the country’s slow internet connection to help the country reach new heights… and it might just push through.
A BROADBAND NETWORK FOR THE PHILIPPINES? Filipinos have already clamored for such a network, but it has yet to happen. (Image grabbed from The Daily Dot)
During his SONA, he asked the newly-created Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) to draw up a plan for a nationwide network of fiber-optic cables and wireless technology.
No details about the national broadband project have been rolled out as of today, but if the DICT has their way, they should have the necessary tools to set up the country’s national broadband network.
In an article published by the Oxford Business Group, Information and Communications Technology Secretary Rodolfo Salalima said the DICT is considering recalling frequencies already allocated to the private sector but have yet to be put into service. If it pushes through, the additional spectrum can then be utilized for the national broadband network instead of telecommunications operations.
For their part, Smart Communications has already announced plans to expand their high-speed internet service coverage to 40 percent of the country by the end of 2016 and 95 percent of the country by 2018 as part of their 4G roll-out.
Data released by internet metrics provider Ookla in 2015 had the Philippines ranked 21st out fo 22 Asian countries for broadband download speeds, coming in at a dismal 3.64 Mbps. Only Afghanistan had slower speeds at 2.52 Mbps.
Source: Oxford Business Group, BusinessWorld Online, GMA News Online
