DICT aims to put all telco cables in Luzon underground within Marcos’ term

The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) on Tuesday said it is eyeing to complete the trenching, or laying underground, of telecommunications cables in Luzon before President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.'s term ends in 2028.

At a press briefing in Malacañang, DICT Secretary Henry Aguda emphasized that fiber optic cable trenching will make telco infrastructure resilient to earthquakes, floods, and high winds.

“Right now, ginagawa na po natin ng plano. Marami na po tayong mga dalubhasa from international organizations that will put the plan together including the financing package para maibaon na,” the DICT chief said.

(Right now, we are already doing the plan. We already have a lot of experts from international organizations who will put the plan together, including the financing package, to lay the cables underground.)

“So, bago matapos ang termino ng Presidente, siguro bandang Luzon medyo nabaon na tapos ie-execute na lang hanggang Mindanao iyong pagbabaon,” Aguda added.

(So before the President’s term ends, in Luzon perhaps it would be trenched already and then it will be continued all the way to Mindanao.)

The DICT chief said the agency will start putting underground cables in Luzon, where the National Fiber Backbone was first activated. 

The ICT Department will then focus on the middle mile, which connects the internet backbone to local networks, and will be installed using poles and then put underground.

Cable trenching, also known as underground cabling, is a method of laying cables into the ground by digging trenches. 

Submerged cables are then covered by a layer of earth, bitumen, or concrete. — BM, GMA Integrated News