MANILA – The National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) is readying its agreement with the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) on the use of the grid operator’s fiber optic network for the national broadband program.
“NGCP is pleased to be chosen by the government, through the DICT, to be its partner in the national broadband network (NBN) project. We are fully supporting this program and its expedited implementation. We are aware that a well-connected nation, such as South Korea and Sweden, enables a fast-paced exchange of knowledge and information needed to further propel our country’s growth,” said Henry Sy, Jr, NGCP President and Chief Executive Officer.
Primarily used for internal communication, NGCP’s fiber optic cables, covering 6,154 kilometers or 160,779 fiber kilometers, will form the primary network of President Duterte’s priority program to bring internet connection to virtually everyone in the country.,
The unused portion of the cables will help ease the infrastructure burden faced by DICT as it can piggyback on NGCP’s existing network.
NGCP maintains, however, that there is still a need for the government to provide last-mile connections and telecommunications-grade redundancies, to deliver services to the end-users.
Sy gave assurances that government partners of NGCP’s full cooperation to implement this program as soon as possible.
According to Sy, NGCP has made significant upgrades to aging, outdated telecommunication facilities inherited from TransCo to ensure reliable power since it took over power transmission services and in line with its given mandate.
”Because of these improvements, we can welcome a partnership for the national broadband program without compromising our primary function as grid operator and transmission service provider,” Sy said.
