The Private Sector Advisory Council (PSAC) asked the government to allocate at least P240 billion to enhance the country’s internet infrastructure.
PSAC said at least P60 billion in annual allocation for the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) is needed to lease towers, build last-mile facilities and optimize existing telecom facilities to provide internet access in 125,000 public facilities including schools, hospitals and health centers over a four-year period.
The group proposed a commercial partnership between the government and the private sector to build 35,000 new cell sites. The government set ambitious connectivity targets to increase the internet penetration rate to 65 percent from 33 percent and make it more affordable to Filipinos.
Government spending on internet infrastructure has been traditionally on the low end, with the DICT’s total funding for internet infrastructure at P7.6 billion for six years from 2018 to 2024.
PSAC called for the full and consistent implementation of Executive Order No. 32, which the president issued last year to streamline and expedite the permitting process for telco infrastructure.
Globe president and chief executive Ernest Cu shared PSAC’s proposed legislative and policy measures to support the digital infrastructure sector.
These measures include streamlining the permitting process, energizing telco towers, rationalizing spectrum user fees and amending the national building code to exempt telco and ICT facilities from lease fees in buildings and other developments.
“Telco and the internet must be widespread, robust and meaningful, enabling full participation in the digital economy. Currently, policy gaps hinder expansion into rural and underserved areas,” Cu said.