NGCP, DICT in talks on use of fiber optics for national broadband project

MANILA, Philippines -  The National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) is continuing discussions with the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) on the use of fiber optics for the national broadband project.

NGCP said it is currently coordinating with DICT for further collaboration. It said follow-up meetings, facility tours, and a draft contract for a prospective partnership on the national broadband are also in the works.

The national power grid has about 5,000 to 10,000 fiber optic cables of existing fiber optic facilities that run from Luzon to Mindanao for internal communication purposes, operated by NGCP through a 25-year concession contract.

This fiber optic network is used primarily for internal communication purposes, particularly to enable real time communication between its facilities, and with generators for and distribution utilities.

The company has stated its support, through the leasing of the unused portions of its fiber optic lines, for government efforts to upgrade the country’s internet speed and shorten the amount of time needed to complete the project.

However, NGCP said the spare capacity in its fiber optic lines may only support part of the broadband network.

“Given that the lines’ primary function is for the communication between power transmission facilities, only the unused portions are available to government or third parties, and may support only part of the national broadband network at the scale and magnitude contemplated by government. It may not have the telecommunications-grade redundancies and last-mile connections, or the final leg of telecommunications networks that deliver services to the end-users. NGCP assures that its unused fiber optic capacity will be made available to fill in the needs of the program,” it said.

Recently, DICT visited NGCP’s Dasmariñas Substation, which follows previous coordination meetings in support of the national broadband program, to showcase the availability of our facilities and push this initiative of bringing high-speed internet nationwide.

“NGCP’s wide fiber optic network and related resources are ready to support this priority program under President Duterte’s administration. We are confident that with these continuing talks, we can look forward to the program’s expedited implementation,” the grid operator said.

The NGCP consortium is composed of Monte Oro Grid Resources Corp. led by Henry Sy Jr., Calaca High Power Corp. of Robert Coyiuto Jr. and the State Grid Corp. of China as technical partner.