The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) launched on Friday the National Broadband Plan in line with President Rodrigo Duterte’s directive to address internet problems in the country, a department official said on Friday. “The National Broadband Plan is to accelerate the deployment of fiber optic cables and wireless technologies to improve internet speeds and costs,” Eliseo Rio, DICT undersecretary for special concerns, told The Manila Times. Salima said they expect to sign memorandum of understanding with NGCP in order to bring down the cost of implementing the plan. The department has estimated the broadband plan to cost between P77 billion and P200 billion. The department has rolled out early this month a free Wi-Fi along Edsa, which involves the DICT internet service, called “Pipol Konek.”

Source: Manila Times June 23, 2017 17:26 UTC