THE Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), National Electrification Administration (NEA) and the Philippine Rural Electric Cooperatives Association Inc. (Philreca) signed a memorandum of understanding last week to formalize an undertaking meant to provide high-speed and affordable broadband in remote and rural areas of the country.
According to NEA Administrator Edgardo R. Masongsong, his agency and the DICT started exploring arrangements to bring broadband connectivity into the countryside by tapping the existing infrastructure of the electric cooperatives. He added the deal affirms the NEA’s full commitment and support to the National Broadband Project (NBP) of the government.
The tripartite collaboration is meant “to realize the objectives of the NBP, including, but not limited to, the co-use of fiber optic cables,” Masongsong said.
Under the agreement, the NEA and Philreca will coordinate with the electric cooperatives (ECs) regarding the NBP project. The DICT, on the other hand, shall be allowed to connect or access the ECs’ existing nodes so that it may link with other government agencies.
The plan is for the government to piggyback on the infrastructure of the cooperatives to provide Internet service to their assigned areas. This is similar to the tripartite agreement signed among the DICT, National Transmission Corp. (Transco) and National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP).
In its tripartite agreement with the NGCP and Transco on June 8, the DICT was given the right to use their dark fiber network.
The planned framework will also include the financial arrangement with the ECs that have existing fiber-optic cables in their distribution lines and possible funding for power utilities, which do not have fiber on their grid.