Gov’t taps Singapore firm for internet project

The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) sealed a major fiber deal with a Singaporean firm to support the Philippine government’s efforts to bring internet connectivity to underserved areas around the country.

In a statement on Monday, the DICT said it formalized a partnership with HyalRoute Group’s subsidiary Philippine Fiber Optic Cable Network Ltd. Inc. (PFOCN).

Under the partnership, the DICT said PFOCN would invest up to $2 billion to roll out fiber optic cables from 2019 through 2029. For its part, the DICT will provide assistance to PFOCN in procuring the needed permits and licenses.

“There is a need for more fiber optic cables in this country, thus this partnership will greatly improve our telecommunication services. We can now have cable networks that anybody can use and this jives with our National Broadband Plan,” Acting Secretary Eliseo Rio Jr. of the DICT said.

Rio said the fiber optic cable rollout through the partnership would also form part of the DICT’s Free Public Wi-Fi network to reach unserved and underserved areas in the country.

The signing ceremony was led by Rio, DICT Undersecretary John Henry Naga, HyalRoute CEO Dana Dong and vice president Guowei Tang.

“We believe this investment project will greatly improve the status of communication infrastructure, particularly fiber network, while improving broadband penetration rate and speed to meet the needs of the general public,” HyalRoute chair Huang Xinglong said.

Fiber optic cables provide greater bandwidth capacity and allows for faster speeds with wider range. Once established, it will become the new shared network infrastructure in the Philippines.

The DICT and PFOCN will closely coordinate to start the implementation of the fiber optic cable network, the statement added.