College buddies raise bar in poll transmission speed

With iOne Resources Inc

MANILA, Philippines —  With its first contract on a massive scale as the national elections, iOne Resources Inc. did not disappoint.

Along with its joint venture partner Ardent Networks Inc., iOne Resources bagged the Commission on Elections (Comelec) contract for electronic transmission services during last year’s midterm elections and the recent Bangsamoro polls, snatching the deal with its P1.426-billion bid.

“We were asked for proof of concept and we immediately complied. We won because our bid was P200 million lower than the only other bidder, but we still needed to prove we can run it. Thankfully, we did and got the award,” said iOne president and CEO Alberto Catangui.

Catangui founded iOne in August 2002 to provide end-to-end ICT solutions for government entities and private corporations, from satellite connectivity and network infrastructure to cybersecurity, managed services, field deployment and enterprise systems. His chief technology officer, Larry dela Cruz, is also an applied math major at the University of the Philippines in Los Baños.

Although iOne has handled projects in other government agencies such as the Department of Social Welfare and Development, Bureau of Customs and Department of Budget and Management, Catangui said the Comelec contract was, by far, its most significant to date – deploying about 8,700 Starlink satellite units across the country that not only showcased iOne’s technical capacity but also set a new standard for ensuring election integrity and inclusivity, especially in remote and underserved areas.

According to Comelec-accredited poll watchdog Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV), the transmission of the election results was faster than any previous election.

“The speed of transmission was unprecedented due to the deployment of approximately 8,700 Starlink low earth orbit satellites which offer high speed internet,” it said in a report.

PPCRV spokesperson Anna Singson said the transmission was “incredibly fast.”

“We’ve broken all past records in electronic voting since 2010. The time when it took weeks or even months before a candidate is declared (the winner) is now a thing of the past.”

PPCRV said within 67 hours, or less than three days after the May 12, 2025 polls closed, the last data dump was received by the PPCRV Transparency Server at 2:41 p.m. on May 15 and reached 98.12 percent of all transmissions at that point.

During the Sept. 14 Bangsamoro elections, the results came in faster. All 32 parliamentary district representatives were formally proclaimed the following day  and after midnight on Sept. 16, the Comelec Regional Board of Canvassers formally proclaimed all elected members of the parliament.

“Considering that this election marks the first Comelec activity of iOne, we cannot expect them to have a full mark or 100 percent satisfaction score. However, no one questioned the transmitted results and no one questioned that a lot of precincts were not able to transmit. This showed the performance of iOne and which made the elections a success because our providers all did their best to make this activity successful,” said Celia Romero, director at Comelec’s Election Records and Statistics Department.

Dela Cruz said despite the challenges, the deployment of Starlink stands out as one of the Philippines’ biggest and most ambitious uses of satellite internet infrastructure.

“For iOne, this project doesn’t just strengthen its credentials; it helps redefine what reliable internet access means for all Filipinos, no matter where they are,” he said.