THIRD telco player Mindanao Islamic Telephone Co. Inc. (Mislatel), the joint-venture partnership between Davao-based businessman Dennis Uy and China Telecom, has formalized an undertaking with the National Transmission Corp. (TransCo) meant to provide high-speed and affordable broadband in remote and rural areas of the country.
Mislatel Spokesman Adel Tamano said the two companies signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU). “This will be part of the backbone of the network that we will roll out so it is a precondition to having a reliable national coverage. With a well-established network, we can have better and more affordable Internet services,” Tamano said.
The MOU also paves the way “to realize the objectives of the national broadband plan [NBP].”
Tamano said Mislatel is working on signing similar agreements with the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP), the National Electrification Administration (NEA) and electric cooperatives (ECs) nationwide.
“We are open to partnering with the NEA and the co-ops. We are working with the NGCP, as well,” he said.
The NGCP is in charge of operating, maintaining and developing the country’s power grid. It has been awarded a 25-year concession deal to operate and manage the transmission facilities. However, Transco still owns the assets.
NGCP’s fiber-optic capacity is available for the use of third parties in the implementation of the NBP.
NGCP’s existing fiber-optic cable network enables real-time communication between transmission facilities, and with generators and distribution utilities. The fiber-optic capacity to be leased out by the company uses transmission facilities. Allowing the government or third parties to “piggy-back” on this transmission communication backbone will be critical in the immediate implementation of this government’s national broadband program.