National broadband network can help gov't coffers - DOST chief

MANILA, Philippines -  The government stands to save more than a billion pesos annually on Internet connectivity if it pushes through with plans for a national broadband network (NBN), Science and Technology Secretary Mario Montejo said yesterday.

Montejo said that with a broadband network in place, Internet expenses of government agencies, including state universities, are likely to go down from P2 billion every year to roughly P700 million.

He stressed that the envisioned broadband project is “completely different” from the botched $329-million national broadband network of the previous administration with China’s ZTE Corp.

Montejo said he hopes to furnish President Aquino a copy of his department’s proposal for a broadband network.

He said the project the DOST is proposing “is very cost effective,” and that they may also have to tap the expertise of local information technology companies for the endeavor.

“The Internet could be four to five times faster than it currently is,” Montejo said in a phone interview.

Montejo said leading telecommunication companies in the country have expressed interest in the DOST’s proposed broadband project.

“The telcos are open to participate,” he said. “When we first discussed this (project) with them they were very appreciative.”

Reports said Montejo has directed a DOST-attached agency, the Information and Communications Technology, to spearhead the implementation of a broadband project.

The Department of Transportation and Communications was the lead agency in the aborted NBN-ZTE deal during the Arroyo administration.

Not very costly

For businessman Joey de Venecia III, a reliable national broadband system doesn’t have to cost more than $130 million if no corruption is involved.

“This was a good program, ang problema napasukan ng katiwalian (the problem was, corruption got in the way),” De Venecia said.

De Venecia, son and namesake of a former House speaker, testified before the Senate Blue Ribbon committee in 2008 that then first gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo asked him to back off from the broadband deal with ZTE. 

“This thing has to be transparent at a reasonable price but with excellent quality,” De Venecia stressed, noting that the government definitely needs broadband connection.

“Internet gives you jobs, education which will translate to food on the table. It doesn’t have to be so complicated,” he said.

In order to ensure against irregularity, De Venecia said a broadband deal should be subject to bidding, considering that there are many companies in the US, Canada, Taiwan which can undertake such project.

“We have to make sure that the suppliers and vendors that will participate will be qualified. The DOST doesn’t have to choose the lowest (bid), (as long as it’s) reasonable and (will give) the best quality of service. Sometimes you get what you pay for,” he said.

An NBN system, he added, will benefit the country and cut expenses for a long time because if technology changes through the years, the actual concept of interconnectivity does not.

De Venecia likened the system to a road or highway which, if built for old cars years ago, can still be used for newer ones as long as the infrastructure exists.

He explained that in 2006 when the NBN project was first introduced, the government was spending P4 billion in telephone and Internet expenses annually.

Savings

Administration lawmakers echoed Montejo’s projections of huge savings as well as better delivery of services with a national broadband network in place.

“We need a broadband network so that our country can finally become an ‘e-economy’ like our developed neighbors,” Parañaque City Rep. Roilo Golez said.

“It must be technologically-driven. The government must get the most technologically adept (proponent) and the implementation should also be multi-sectoral and multi-disciplinary because NBN must be acceptable and understandable to the end-users, which are the government offices,” Golez said in an interview.

He also dismissed suggestions that private firms be allowed to run the system to make it up to date, saying the government has the capability to lay down and maintain a reliable NBN.

Ang Kasangga party-list Rep. Teodorico Haresco, vice chairman of the House committee on small business and entrepreneurship development, said he “stands foursquare behind the move of the government establishing a nationwide broadband network.”

“More efficient government operations and delivery of services means more businesses, and more businesses lead to better economy,” Haresco said.

He said that since the NBN being considered would also cover 5th and 6th class municipalities, the government might as well allow the use of the network by private citizens at cost.

He said with an NBN in place, local telecommunications firms would be compelled to improve their services and reduce their rates.

“Why are we paying anywhere from $100 to $300 a month for unlimited calls, text messaging, and Internet and other services when in the US it costs 25 cents while in Europe the same services costs 30 euros. Maybe putting a joker in the pack may result in better rates and services,” Haresco said. – With Paolo Romero, Michael Punongbayan