The National Broadband Program (NBP) of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) will save the government P720 million in Internet expense by next year.
But if DICT gets its additional budget request of P17 billion for 2021, NBP's second Phase can save the state as much as P34 billion in internet expenses by 2022.
First of all, the NBP will deploy broadband capacity across the nation, serving remote, inaccessible areas which the private sector will consider unprofitable.
The program is key to the public sector's gaining access to cheaper, more reliable Internet services that can slash government spending on Internet subscription by seven fold.
Once the DICT completes the first phase of the NBP, government agencies can avail of Internet service at P50 per megabits per second (Mbps) of Internet bandwidth per month.
At present, government offices spend seven times more, at P350 per Megabits per second of Internet bandwidth per month.
This means that an average size agency which requires a hundred Mbps shared Internet connectivity across a whole building spends P35,000 per month, or P420,000 per year.
With the NBP, an average office will now spend just P5,000 a month, or P60,000 a year, for the same speed.
The taxpayers money saved can then be used for other programs and projects to improve social services.
Phase 1 of the NBP activates the Cable Landing station in Baler, Aurora and connects to the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) Node in San Fernando La Union through the Luzon Bypass Infrastructure.
DICT will then activate and light up of 4 DICT nodes and 15 NGCP nodes that will connect with the various DICT equipment.
From there, the DICT can provide bandwidth to nearby government clients and free Wi-Fi beneficiaries, saving P720 million in Internet subscription expenses in its first year of implementation alone.
By 2022, the proposed Phase 2 of the NBP will cover Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao hauling in P34 billion pesos in government Internet expense.
But that is hinged on the government's not scrimping on DICT's 2021 budget request of P17 billion.
Neighboring countries with similar initiatives, such as Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand allotted significantly higher budgets for their National Broadband Network, the DICT underscored.
Indonesia allocated over $22 billion (P1.07 trillion) for its 5-year national broadband plan.
Australia allotted US$37 billion (P1.79 trillion), while New Zealand put in US$1.19 billion (P58 billion) for similar initiatives.
Other countries, such as Singapore, are improving their systems by spending USD$550 million (P26.72
billion) and opening up their network to all service providers.
“Improving internet connectivity will help Filipinos adapt to the new normal. That is why the DICT doubles its efforts to accelerate the National Broadband Program,” says DICT Secretary Gregorio B. Honasan II.
“We can expect that by the end of 2020, Phase 1 of the NBP will begin operations, and by 2021, we can
already feel the effects of this initiative,” he pledged.