By: Ronnel W. Domingo - 05:24 AM
February 08, 2018
National Grid Corporation of the
Philippines (NGCP) has appealed directly to President Duterte on the power grid
operator’s willingness to help the government build a national broadband
network (NBN), months after waiting for an answer from the Department of
Information and Communications Technology (DICT).
In an open letter to Mr. Duterte
sent out on Wednesday, the NGCP management emphasized that it was “willing and
eager” to help out in the government’s efforts to develop an NBN, which would
bring high-speed internet services, at least to government offices and maybe to
the general public.
“We are willing to let the
government use these (power transmission) facilities at no cost,” NGCP said.
NGCP has maintained that its
concession agreement with the government through National Transmission Corp.
allowed the company to engage in related businesses such as the fiber optic
business.
NGCP officials earlier said the
country’s transmission network was a ready facility that could support a third
telecommunications service provider, which would be spared spending billions of
dollars to build its own network from the ground up.
“We are ready to sit down and sign a
bilateral agreement with the DICT for the use by government of NGCP’s fiber
optic network,” NGCP wrote to Mr. Duterte.
The company said its representatives
had met in May 2017 with their counterparts from the DICT, discussing NGCP’s
fiber network and how this could potentially be used to support the broadband
program.
“NGCP drafted and sent to the DICT,
a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that will provide the protocol for the
inspection and use of our facilities,” NGCP said.
“Since this is a priority project of
the government, it was our understanding that the same would be considered,
signed and reported to you in time for the 2017 State of the Nation Address,”
it added.
The company said DICT
representatives had, in fact, visited NGCP’s Dasmariñas Substation in Cavite to
inspect the fiber optic cables embedded in the transmission system as well as
the Araneta Substation and the National Control Center, both in Quezon City.
“Since then, we have not been
invited to proceed with the signing of the MOU,” NGCP said.
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