The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) said it is on track to complete the National Fiber Backbone (NFB) program by 2027, ahead of schedule, with the $287.2 million funding secured from the World Bank.
The NFB, which is a major component of the DICT’s National Broadband Plan, seeks to improve internet speed and affordability nationwide. It involves the construction of 28,000 kilometers of government-owned fiber that will link the islands of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.
DICT Secretary Ivan Uy, in an interview on the sidelines of the FiberConnect APAC Conference, said the funding from the World Bank will help fast-track the completion of the project ahead of 2028.
“The strategy that we took was while we are relying on Congress to fund our national backbone, we will be implementing in parallel the remaining phases through funding from the World Bank,” Uy said.
Last month, the World Bank approved the $287.2- million funding for the Philippines Digital Infrastructure project. The proceeds will be used to complete the remaining parts of the national fiber backbone, connecting the two main international landing stations in Baler and Davao City.
Last April, NFB Phase 1 has started its operations, covering 1,245 km from Laoag, Ilocos Norte, to Roces, Quezon City. Phase 2 and 3 will be operational by mid-2025, Uy said.
“It will be online. It’s already ongoing as we speak. It’s being laid out and we are anticipating that Phase 2 and Phase 3 should be up and running sometime in the middle of next year,” Uy added.
The remaining two phases which cover part of Southern Luzon, part of Visayas and a portion of Mindanao will be complete by 2027.
Phase 1 is delivering an initial 600 Gbps optical spectrum capacity which will connect 14 provinces across Northern and Central Luzon, Metro Manila, four Bases Conversion and Development Authority economic zones, and two national government data centers.
Upon completion of the remaining phases, DICT earlier said it expects to increase the penetration rate from 33 percent to 65 percent and reach 70 million Filipinos out of the current 115 million population nationwide.
This initiative will also lower the price of internet connectivity to as much as P45 per megabit.
