The government aims to increase the country’s telecommunications infrastructure by 15,000 telco towers in the next 3 years, according to Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles.
This is one of the government programs to speed up and expand internet access in the country, Nograles said.
“Government also plans to continue fast-tracking programs and projects such as the National Broadband Program, the Free WIFI for all program, and the National Government Data Center,” he said.
Proposals approved by President Rodrigo Duterte include the issuance of a provisional right of way for DICT infrastructure projects, the permission of telcos to work during emergencies, and the issuance of a memorandum circular for telco health protocols.
It also includes considering the required power capacity of the telco or telecoms infrastructure, issuing fixed regulatory fees of LGUs for the installation and repair of telcos in the barangays, and streamlining or reducing the requirements and procedures of permits required by the telco companies.
According to the Department of Information and Communications Technology, the Philippines has a backlog of 50,000 telco towers compared to neighboring countries in Southeast Asia.
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PH targets to build 15,000 telco towers in next 3 years
The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) earlier said the internet speed in the Philippines has improved, citing crowdsourced data from Ookla.
The rank of the Philippines when it comes to mobile internet speed went from 111th in January 2020 to 86th globally in January this year.
The DICT added the mobile internet speed also increased by 14.5 percent to 22.5 megabits per second (Mbps) while fixed broadband speed rose 4.1 percent to 31.44 Mbps.
“Our vision of digital transformation will be realized if all Filipinos, regardless of who they are and where they are in the country, have quality access to Internet connectivity services at affordable prices,” Information and Communications Secretary Gregorio Honasan II said in a statement.
The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) and DICT are checking the status of their network projects and “to address any problems that may cause lags in its implementation.”