Gov’t subsidy a must for faster internet – NTC

The government has a central role in improving the quality of internet service in the Philippines, an official from the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) said.

 

Internet service providers cannot afford the cost of investment for the required broadband infrastructures on their own, NTC Director Edgardo Cabarios told reporters on Tuesday.

 

"Sa ibang bansa, meron silang universal access fund for the development of broadband infrastructure. Dapat pagtulungan iyan dahil private investments hindi kaya iyan,” he added. 

 

Giving 80 percent of Philippine households the access to internet speeds of 2 megabits per second by 2016 – as outlined in the Philippine Digital Strategy launched in 2011 – would require P800 billion of investment.

 

The investment is almost 10 times the combined capital expenditures that Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company and Globe Telecom Inc. have outlined this year. 

 

“Building a national network in the Philippines will cost you several times higher than building a network in Singapore, in Vietnam. Mas mahal because we are an archipelago,” Cabarios said.

 

Letting the private sector shoulder the costs on their own would lead to higher access rates, as companies would have to recoup their investment and ensure financial gain.

 

“When government invests, ang hinihintay niyan ay economic return hindi financial. Kapag may internet in an area, magkakaroon ng economic activity and that will spur growth,” Cabarios said. – VS, GMA News