Newly confirmed DICT secretary Gregorio Honasan said the next 18 months will be crucial for the DICT to set the course of the Digital Philippines vision.
Felino O. Castro V was designated as assistant secretary for the National Broadband Plan Backbone and Free Wi-Fi Internet Access in Public Places by DICT secretary Gregorio Honasan through Department Order No. 008 signed last July 19, 2019.
DICT secretary Gregorio Honasan II said the proposed common tower policy must be sustainable in order to achieve the government’s target of building 50,000 telecommunication towers for the improvement of country’s connectivity.
Sen. Ralph Recto cited the DICT for deploying what he called a "SWAT or Special Wi-Fi Access Team" to earthquake-hit Batanes, which enabled residents to call worried relatives and rescuers to synchronize their work.
The new law aims to help startups and startup enablers by providing incentives like travel grants, access to a Startup Venture Fund, and assistance in getting visas and business permits.
The DICT said the improvements in telco services will stem from a high-speed Internet infrastructure to be built through its partnership with Facebook and the start of operations of Dito Telecommunity Corporation (Dito), the country's third major telco player.
This developed after newly appointed DICT secretary Gringo Honasan chose to pick IT executive Emmanuel “Manny” Caintic to replace Cabanlong in his role as the top official in charge of cybersecurity concerns.
Appointed as undersecretaries were lawyers Jose Arturo de Castro and Eleazar Almalbis Jr., while named assistant secretaries were Emmanuel Caintic and Vicente Cejoco.
