SUSTAINABILITY will be a key thrust of newly invested Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Secretary Gregorio B. Honasan II, who vowed to adopt the policies and programs of his predecessor and to introduce new competition in the telco market.
During his first press conference at the inauguration of the Free WiFi Access Point at the Quirino Memorial Medical Center, Honasan congratulated Former Acting DICT Secretary Eliseo M. Rio Jr. for steering the department effectively to achieve its mandate of bringing digital innovations to the Philippines.
Honasan said he will “continue” to implement the “programs and policies” of Rio and open the telco market to more competition to further bring the prices of telecommunications services down while keeping the service levels on an uptrend.
The government was able to award the third telco franchise to Mislatel Consortium, introducing new competition in the duopolistic local market that is still dominated by Globe Telecom Inc. and PLDT Inc.
Rio also led the department in deploying free Internet
connection in public places. Today, a total of 2,565 Wi-Fi sites, covering 17
regions, 58 provinces, and 394 municipalities, have been deployed, benefiting
roughly 2.5 million unique users.
He was also instrumental to concretizing the national broadband plan and has
secured key contracts with Facebook for a two-terabyte backbone, as well as
with the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines and the National Transmission
Corp. for the use of their dark fiber under Rio’s two-year term as acting DICT
chief, for Internet connectivity.
Rio also pushed the industry to adopt infrastructure sharing. As acting head of the ICT department, he signed 23 deals with common tower providers to build at least 50,000 telco towers in the next five years.
Through Rio’s leadership, the department was able to craft Vision 2020, an overarching goal for ICT development that aims to develop the industry and bring forth digital innovations and services that will greatly improve the daily lives of Filipinos. “What we try to do, as a continuation of the marching orders that were given to the DICT, is first to connect everybody—from government to governance, domestic and global, government to businesses, and government to citizens, and do this in a faster cheaper and more secure manner,” he said.
Honasan, who promised to veer away from the stereotype of a military man, said he will lead the ICT department “as human as possible,” and will be “very strategic” in implementing programs that will create an impact on the lives of the most unconnected Filipinos.
He is expected to lead the awarding of the frequencies and certificate of public convenience and necessity to Mislatel Consortium—a group of Filipino and Chinese companies led by Davao-based businessman Dennis A. Uy—on Monday next week.
The new DICT head noted that this is just the start of a whole new era for connectivity in the Philippines, as he will open up the market to new telco players in the future.
“More players will bring the prices down. More competition is encouraged,” Honasan said.