DICT to ask Marcos to provide more support for digital infrastructure

MANILA, Philippines — THE Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) said that it will ask President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to give more support to digital infrastructure to improve connectivity.

DICT spokesman Renato Paraiso said they are firm with their advocacy of developing the country's digital infrastructure.

Paraiso said that they will campaign for more attention to digital-based infrastructure.

«I think with this year's SONA, what we want highlighted, or given support, is infostructure. We have to boost digital infostructures, connectivity, so we can have free wifi, upskilling, cyber security,» the official said, referring to the President's State of the Nation Address.

Last April, the Private Sector Advisory Council recommended to the President the allocation of P608 billion annually to enable the DICT to build digital infrastructure and expand internet coverage.

Data from the DICT showed that 65 percent of the country's population is still not connected to the internet. According to the Statista Research Department, an international research company, 77.81 percent of the population will have internet connection by 2028 in its current phase.

On the other hand, the Asian Development Bank said that Manila has the lowest coverage rates of telecom towers in Southeast Asia and will need an additional 60,000 towers by 2031 in far-flung areas.

In 2021, data from the National Telecommunications Commission showed that there are more than 22,000 cell sites in the country, less than a third of Vietnam's 90,000, and these are shared between three telecommunication companies.

The DICT is set to build an additional 10,000 independent common towers to help expand the reach of broadband connection, in addition to the 2,374 towers under its jurisdiction.