A Singapore-based network infrastructure firm will be investing around $2 billion to roll out fiber optic cables over the next ten years to further improve Internet services in the Philippines.
In a statement on Monday, May 6, the Department of Information and Communications and Technology (DICT) said Hyalroute Group will deploy fiber cables through the Fiber Optic Cable (FOC) Network initiative of its subsidiary Philippine Fiber Optic Cable Network (PFOCN) in various phases between 2019 to 2028.
The DICT said it will provide assistance to PFOCN in procuring the needed permits and licenses for the successful implementation of their initiative.
“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,” DICT acting secretary Eliseo M. Rio Jr. said.
The partnership was formalized through the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement with PFOCN last Thursday, May 2.
The rollout of the fiber optic cables will also form part of the DICT?s Free Public Wi-Fi network to reach the unserved and underserved areas in the country.
The DICT is pushing for the establishment of a National Broadband Network to improve Internet connectivity especially in the rural areas of the country through utilizing a 6,154-kilometer dark fiber network spanning from Luzon to Mindanao. — PNA
