NGCP to Duterte: Include us in broadband program

By Lenie Lectura - February 7, 2018

https://businessmirror.com.ph/ngcp-to-duterte-include-us-in-broadband-program/

In an open letter to President Duterte, the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) said that it is willing to participate in the government’s efforts to develop a National Broadband Program (NBP).

The NGCP said on Wednesday it is even willing and eager to “let government use these facilities at no cost.”

NGCP is a privately owned company led by majority shareholders Henry Sy Jr. and Robert Coyiuto Jr. in charge of operating, maintaining and developing the country’s power grid. It has been awarded a 25-year concession deal to operate and manage the transmission facilities. However, the National Transmission Corp. still owns the assets.

“We would like to reiterate our support of the NBP and we are ready to sit down and sign a bilateral agreement with the DICT [Department of Information and Communications Technology] for the use by government of NGCP’s fiber-optic network,” the company said. “NGCP has always been supportive of this administration’s initiatives toward the use of the dark fiber inherent to the transmission network for the development of the NBP.”

In May last year, the DICT and NGCP met to discuss the NGCPs dark fiber network and how this can potentially be used to support the NBP. Representatives of the DICT, upon NGCPs invitation, visited NGCPs Dasmariñas Substation to inspect the fiber-optic cables embedded in the transmission system.

NGCP said it drafted and sent to the DICT a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that will provide the protocol for the inspection and use of the facilities. NGCP said this was necessary because “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.”

In June 2017, pending the signing of the MOU, representatives of the DICT visited NGCP’s Araneta Substation and the National Control Center in Quezon City.

“Since then, we have not been invited to proceed with the signing of the MOU,” NGCP said.