Marcos meets with ICT execs

MANILA, Philippines — Recognizing the vital role of the private sector in the country’s shift to a digital economy, President Marcos met with officials of fiber broadband provider Converge ICT Solutions, Inc. and South Korea’s largest telecommunications firm, KT Corp., at Malacañang on Friday, where they discussed ways to improve internet services in the country.

Marcos shared photos of his meeting with Converge ICT chief executive officer and president Dennis Anthony Uy and KT Corp. CEO Hyeon-Mo Ku and president Kyoung-Lim Yun on his social media accounts on Friday night.

“We met with the CEO of Converge ICT and officials of KT Corporation of South Korea to organize internet services in the country,” the President said in a post on Twitter.

“Through public-private partnerships like this, we can use their good practices in the programs we will do,” Marcos said.

Established in 1981, KT Corp. is one of the largest telecommunications and digital platform service providers in Korea that is coordinating with governments of other nations to construct information and communications technology facilities, the Office of the Press Secretary said in a Facebook post on Friday.

Converge ICT partnered with KT Corp. in 2018 to lay down fiber lines and submarine cables across the Philippines within five years.

In 2021, Smart Communications Inc., the wireless arm of PLDT Inc., also partnered with KT Corp. to explore and develop consumer 5G technology use in the Philippines.

Last week, Department of Information and Communications Technology Secretary Ivan John Uy said the department was able to provide free WiFi connection to the islands of Sacol, Pangapuyan and Tictabon in the southern part of Mindanao.

This was part of the Marcos administration’s BroadBand ng Masa project in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas, he said.

About 30 percent of the country’s population still have no access to the internet, according to Uy.

Marcos is advocating the use of digital technologies to improve government services.

In his first State of the Nation Address in July, Marcos unveiled his administration’s bid to increase digital connectivity in the Philippines through the BroadBand ng Masa project.

“As the world moves into rapid digitalization, the digital divide will be more pronounced. The depth and breadth at which these technologies will be transformative in our lives is fully expected,” Marcos said.

The President said universal connectivity will be a vital component in order to ensure that no citizen is left behind.