(Eagle News)–The Department of Information and Communications Technology is calling for an increase in its 2021 budget, noting the need for a government-owned broadband network.
In a statement, the department said the additional P18 billion would allow for the completion of the network under the National Broadband Program.
The approved budget for the program under the National Expenditure Program was P902 million.
The DICT noted that it was hightime the government prioritized ICT programs as the country transitions to a new normal.
The department noted that the countries with the fastest Internet really invest in Internet infrastructure.
South Korea, one of the countries in the world with the fastest Internet, for instance, allocated 32 trillion won (27.6 billion United States (US) dollars or 1.34 trillion pesos) to build a national broadband backbone network, mainly through optical fibre cables, the department said.
South Korea was able to roll out country-wide broadband by 1998.
The department said neigboring countries like Indonesia and Vietnam also allotted substantial government investments in Internet and broadband infrastructure. In Indonesia, with the 2014-2019 Indonesia Broadband Plan requiring a total funding of $23.2 billion (1.12 trillion pesos), 10 percent of which was covered by the state budget.
Vietnam, on the other hand, allocated $820 million (39.7 billion pesos) worth of investment on a 23,000-kilometer system submarine cable.
The department also cited Australia and New Zealand, which allocated around $37 billion (1.79 trillion pesos), and $1.19 billion (58 billion pesos), respectively, for their own national broadband network.
“We accept the fact that the appreciation of the government sector for ICT being the future is still limited. Ang gusto po kasi is iyong nahahawakan – iyong tulay, iyong kalsada, iyong physical. That’s the infrastructure component. But from where we see it, we believe that we can actually do these simultaneously,” ICT department Secretary Gregorio B. Honasan II said.