The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) said it has signed a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) agreement worth $150 million (or approximately P8.5 billion) with Japanese telecommunications firm IPS and its local affiliate InfiniVAN to expand the country’s fiber cable infrastructure.
Though the terms of the deal are still hazy, the DICT said in a statement that IPS and InfiniVAN will use the $150-million investment to expand the Philippine Domestic Submarine Cable Network (PDSCN) and then procure dark fiber pairs from it to complete the backbone of the National Broadband Plan.
“[The procurement] will mark the completion of the National Broadband Plan’s foundational infrastructure. This stands as the most recent and expansive project of its nature,” the DICT said in a statement.
InfiniVAN, along with fellow broadband players Eastern Communications and Globe Telecom, co-owns the PDSCN, a 2,500-kilometer undersea cable network linking key cities and tourist hubs in the country.
The partnership deal aims to implement an expansion plan that includes a network spanning 2,700 kilometers of fiber optic cables interconnecting Luzon and extend all the way to Mindanao, encompassing 26 hops or landing stations.
- Batangas-Mindoro
- Mindoro-Boracay
- Lucena-Marinduque
- Marinduque-Tablas
- Capiz-Tablas
- Masbate1-Capiz
- Iloilo-Bacolod
- Negros Occidental-Western Cebu
- Zamboanga Del Norte1-Negros Oriental
- Surigao Del Norte-Southern Leyte
- Western Leyte-Cebu1
- Samar-Masbate2
- Masbate2-Sorsogon
- Boracay-Aklan
- Siargao-Surigao Del Sur
- Camiguin-Misamis Oriental
- Masbate1-Western Leyte
- Cebu2-Bohol
- Bohol-CDO
- CDO-Zamboanga Del Norte1
- Zamboanga Del Norte2-Zamboanga Del Norte1
- Zamboanga Del Norte2-Zamboanga Del Sur
- Camarines Sur-Tablas
- Southern Leyte-Cebu1
- Masbate1-Masbate2 UG Terrestrial
- Cebu1-Cebu2 UG Terrestrial
DICT secretary Ivan Uy and Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) executive director Alexander K. Ramos attended the signing ceremony in Tokyo recently together with IPS chief executive officer and president Koji Miyashita, InfiniVAN director Shikegi Nakahara, and InfiniVAN chief operating officer Edgardo A. Opulencia.
In a statement, the CICC said the expansion project will help build resilient infrastructure by laying optical fiber lines and develop inter-regional submarine cables.
DICT’s Uy said the new contract will further enhance regional connectivity and promote economic growth as the country pushes for digital transformation.
“This agreement shows how we collaborate with the private sector with the objective of establishing a contemporary and efficient network. This network is poised to play a role in enhancing the overall stability of infrastructure in the Philippines. This network is poised to play a role in enhancing the overall stability of Infrastructure in the Philippines,” Uy said.
