The U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) has granted the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) PHP 23.8 million (USD 460,000) in financial assistance to support the implementation of the country’s National Broadband Network Plan. The USTDA is a federal agency that links US companies to Infrastructure opportunities abroad. The grant was awarded on February 7, 2019 by the United States’ Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim to Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Acting Secretary Eliseo Rio, Jr.
A qualified consultant from the United States will be hired as advisor who will assist the government in refining technical designs, assess future market demand and prepare the documentation required for financing and implementation. It will also open opportunities for US companies to offer their technology and solutions to the local market.
On the same day, the DICT also inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Aboitiz InfraCapital which became the seventh firm to partner with the DICT in building, operating and maintaining 50,000 cell towers nationwide for common use by all telecommunications companies. Aboitiz joins local and international companies such as Philippines’ ISOC Infrastructures, Singapore’s ISON ECP Tower, Nigeria’s HIS Towers, Malaysia’s Edotco Group and RT Telecom, and state-owned China Energy Engineering Corporation.
subsequently, the DICT signed agreement with MGS Corporation, Inc. on 11 February and American Tower on 19 February for the same common tower arrangement.
(Source: DICT, Philippine Star, U.S Embassy in Manila)
