Marcos vows support for common towers to boost connectivity

To boost internet connectivity for those in the country who were still without access, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. vowed during Monday's third State of the Nation Address to policy reforms and government support for common towers.

Marcos added that the Philippines was upgrading the capacity and connectivity to internet access as only 20.6 million households, or 77% of the Philippine population, were connected to the internet as of 2022, which he said was “too low.”

“Together with our private sector partners, we will efficiently harness a concept of common towers to provide connectivity to Filipinos who are at the far end of the last mile,” said the President.

“Expect full government support to ensure the successful completion of this critical project including policy reforms and streamlining processing.”
 
To recall, the common tower policy was first planned in 2018, under then-President Rodrigo Duterte. It seeks to free telecommunications companies from costly capital expenditures in building such towers.

Firms have repeatedly called out the government for difficulties securing permits, with Ayala-led Globe Telecom Inc. citing the “massive investments” and the “debilitating” process of securing permits to build cellular sites and towers.

Also, during his SONA, Marcos said the government was looking to widen the coverage of the country’s free Wi-Fi program which has reached some 10 million unique user devices.

“Nasasagap ito sa marami nating mga paaralan at malalayo at liblib na pook. Patuloy pa ang ating pinaparami na mga libreng wifi sa buong bansa (This reaches a lot of schools and far and secluded areas),” he said.

“As part of our nationwide infrastructure development, phase one of the national fiber backbone has been completed and operationalized. Phases two and three have already begun early this year and shall be completed by 2026,” he added.

The National Broadband Plan Phase 1 involved the activation of 26 nodes from Laoag in Ilocos Norte to Roces in Quezon City using the NGCP’s dark fiber. Subsequent phases are set to extend the network reach to connect to more regions across the country.

Marcos, in the same speech, said he also directed agencies to ensure that the speed and quality of information technology (IT) development mirrored the pace and trajectory of the country’s economic aspirations. — DVM, GMA Integrated News