DICT, China Telecom eye submarine broadband infrastructure

MANILA, Philippines — State-owned China Telecommunications Corp. and the Philippine government are looking at the viability of putting up a submarine broadband infrastructure that will directly connect Hong Kong, the US and the Philippines, resulting in faster internet speed in the country.

The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and China Telecom signed yesterday a joint letter of intent for the construction of a submarine broadband infrastructure, which the government said is part of its continuing efforts towards bringing enhanced internet connectivity speed for Filipinos.

“Basically, it was a joint letter of intent that DICT signed with China Telecom to look at the feasibility of China Telecom coming up with a cable landing station that can be used by the government for its National Broadband Plan and for the Free WiFi project,” Information and Communications Technology Acting Secretary Eliseo Rio said.

Rio said part of the feasibility study is to determine the financing component, but noted that it should be “at no cost to the Philippine government.”

In a statement, China Telecom said the proposed international submarine telecommunications cable would directly connect Hong Kong, the US and the Philippines.

The facility will use optical fiber technology to carry signal and digital data, including telephone and internet traffic, across oceans and seas, it said.

With the proposed submarine broadband infrastructure, DICT and China Telecom are hoping to ease up traffic and speed up internet connectivity, making it more accessible, reliable and affordable for more Filipinos.

“This is our first step in providing the foundation for faster and cheaper internet services for Filipinos. With this partnership, we are setting up our International Gateway Facility that is critical for world-class telecommunications services,” Mislatel consortium spokesperson Adel Tamano said.

Together with Dennis Uy’s Udenna Corp. and Chelsea Logistics Holdings Corp., China Telecom is part of the consortium which was named the new major player in the telecommunications market on Monday.

The consortium aims to deliver 27 mbps of broadband speed in its first year of operations.