PLDT urges standard permit system for data highway

PLDT Inc. wants national and local government regulations streamlined, saying this will hasten the deployment of a broadband infrastructure.

The telco giant made this call as it also sought to raise awareness on “widespread” cases of cable theft and fiber cuts due to government public works activities.

According to Mario Tamayo, PLDT and Smart senior vice president for network service, those external causes accounted for 80 percent of service interruptions to subscribers.

The issues were already raised to the Department of Information and Communication Technology, Tamayo said.

PLDT specifically noted that a standard permit system should be established “to minimize bureaucratic delays and strengthen stakeholder support for the rollout of network infrastructure to more areas in the country.”

Tamayo said there are currently no standard fees in applying for permits. Particularly at the level of barangays and municipalities, telcos face different sets of permit fees and processing timelines.

“We are calling for a national consensus to harmonize policies and regulations in support of building digital data infrastructure. We also hope to deepen understanding of our people, at the community level, how vital telecoms infrastructure are to our lives. When these facilities are damaged or stolen, this harms our welfare as surely as when roads and bridges are washed away,” Tamayo said.

Tamayo also proposed that the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) allocate space for telecoms infrastructure in public highways to reduce right-of-way issues and expedite deployment of fiber facilities.

In anticipation of the continued growth of data traffic and digital services in the country, PLDT plans to increase the capacity of its data infrastructure by “10 times” come 2020.