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Philippines: Government urged to spend more for digital infrastructure
MANILA, Philippines — The telco industry has asked President Marcos to allocate a yearly budget not only for physical infrastructure, but also for digital assets to achieve his push for universal connectivity.
PLDT president and CEO Alfredo Panlilio told The STAR that telco executives in the Private Sector Advisory Council have requested that the government shoulder some of the cost needed to hook up remote areas to the internet.
Panlilio said he even told Information Secretary Ivan John Uy to seek an annual budget for fiber installment in far-flung locations where telco providers are struggling to expand to.
“I was telling the committee, including Secretary Uy, that from a private sector point of view, we have business plans that we go after. We need to show returns and all of that,” Panlilio said.
“In areas where it is hard for us to invest, we are hoping we could partner with the government. I was telling Secretary Uy: If the Department of Public Works and Highways can ask for a budget for physical highways, why can’t you ask for a budget for digital highways?” he said.
Panlilio said other telco officials, including Globe Telecom Inc. president and CEO Ernest Cu and Converge ICT Solutions CEO and co-founder Dennis Anthony Uy, agreed to his proposal.
He said President Marcos supports the recommendation that the government take on some of the cost in providing access to the internet in underserved communities.
“When we talked to the President, he was very engaged on how we can deliver that, on how we can fulfill his dream of digitizing the whole country,” the PLDT chief said.
In a previous interview with The STAR, Converge’s Uy said the Marcos administration’s push for universal connectivity should be coupled with investments in digital infrastructure. By doing this, the government lessens the cost of internet services for Filipinos, with telco players no longer paying for everything.
“In countries like the US, Australia and Singapore, the common infrastructure is spent on by the government. That’s part of not duplicating the high cost of investment (and the governments just allow) the operators to ride on them,” Uy said.
“At the end of the day, if the operator is doing low investment, it benefits the consumer because the return of investments is faster,” he said.
The Private Sector Advisory Council working with the President is led by the Aboitiz Group, with a digital infrastructure group made up of executives of Bank of the Philippine Islands, Converge, PLDT, Globe and Union Bank of the Philippines.
Source: https://www.philstar.com/business/2022/11/01/2220590/government-urged-spend-more-digital-infrastructure