DICT to ask for more digital infrastructure

THE Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) said that they had asked support from President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., to give more emphasis on having a nationwide digital connectivity as part of his upcoming State of the Nation Address (SONA).

According to DICT Spokesperson Atty. Renato Paraiso, they are firm with their advocacy of developing the country’s digital infrastructure.

Likewise, Paraiso said that they will campaign for a more digital based infrastructure in the Philippines.

“I think with this year’s SONA, ang talagang pinapahighlight natin or hinihiling natin na suporta, really is, infostructures natin. Pagpapalakas ng mga digital infostructures natin, ang connectivity, so ayan ‘yung mga free wifi, upskilling, at cyber security po,” Paraiso said.

According to the Telecom Review, the average broadband internet speed in the Philippines is currently ranked 41st in the world.

This is the reiterating problem in the country with the speed frequently being inconsistent and merely limited.

Data from the DICT showed that 65 percent of the country’s population is still not connected to the internet. According to the Statista Research Department, an international research company, 77.81 percent of the Filipino population will only have an internet connection by 2028 in its current phase.

On the other hand, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said that Manila has the lowest coverage rates of telecom towers in the Southeast Asian region and will need an additional 60,000 towers by 2031 in far-flung areas.

2021 data from the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) showed that there are more than 22,000 cell sites in the country, less than a third of Vietnam’s 90,000, and they are shared between three telcos.

DICT is set to build an additional 10,000 independent common towers to help expand the reach of broadband connections in the country, in addition to the 2,374 towers under its jurisdiction.