The national government is planning to build a national fiber backbone that would connect Ilocos Region to Metro Manila—and that is only for Phase I of the project as the two other phases would further go down the southern part of Luzon.
In the Build Better More Infrastructure Forum in Tarlac, Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Secretary Ivan John Uy said the Phase 1 of the National Fiber Backbone will be from Laoag City in Ilocos Norte to Quezon City and will connect 14 provinces.
This covers 1,245 kilometers of wireless of free and secured internet connectivity that will further stretch to additional 6,300 kilometers for the two other phases of the project.
DICT spokesperson Assistant Secretary Renato Paraiso said the project would need a huge amount of money—the funding was challenging according to Uy himself during the forum.
Paraiso said the Phase 1, which was launched last April 2024, covers Baler in Quezon to Laoag in Ilocandia and stretches to Metro Manila while Phases 2 and 3 of the national fiber backbones which will connect Metro Manila to Southern Luzon are targeted to be finished within this year.
Visayas and Mindanao, the DICT assured, will not be left out as there will be Phases 4 to 6 of the project that would connect the two main island groups to Luzon as part of the broadband expansion.
But the challenge is on the budget.
“At least P200-B additional funds are needed to fully implement Phases 4, 5 and 6 of NBP’s digital infrastructure project. These three segments will cover the broadband expansion in Mindanao and Visayas, and all other geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas in the country,” said Paraiso.
The Private Sector Advisory Council has recommended that the government allocate P240 billion to enhance the country’s digital infrastructure.
The PSAC proposed funding would include a P60 billion budget for DICT over four years to improve broadband connectivity, increase the internet penetration rate to 65 percent and make digital services more affordable, particularly in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas (GIDAs).
Economic benefit
Uy said providing stable connectivity to as many Filipinos is a good economic driver as manifested by various studies.
For instance, he said a 10 percent increase in internet penetration rate translates to 1.4 percent in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth.
And once the national government is able to realize its vision of setting up 125,000 cell sites by 2028, it would translate to US$ 6.07 billion in economic growth.
PBBM’ SONA
In his third State of the Nation Address, Marcos noted the low number of Filipinos who have internet access as he stated that only 77 percent of the country’s 20.6 million households have broadband connectivity.
In his first two SONAs, the President repeatedly emphasized the need for internet connectivity and directed the agencies concerned to ensure the speed and quality of the digital services that the Filipinos deserved.
The President’s take on internet connectivity for Filipinos became a motivation for the DICT to request more funding from Congress to fulfill what has been promised by the Chief Executive to the Filipino people.
Paraiso stressed that the coming months, which is the budget hearing period from August to November, would be an opportunity for DICT to lobby for an appropriation that suffices the funding for the rollout of the entire six-phase digital infrastructure project under the flagship national broadband program.
“The budget proposal for the entire national expenditures was already submitted to Congress. Government agencies are now on standby for budget calls from different House and Senate committees,” said Paraiso.