The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) will issue a policy on shared infrastructure on fiber optic cables and radio spectrum this year to help lower the prices of telecom services in the country.
Jeffrey Ian Dy, DICT undersecretary, said following the successful rollout of the common towers policy, the government is discussing with all telecom players the plan to set up a policy for shared infrastructure, especially in fiber optic cables even on active network components.
The policy essentially entails the reassignment or rationalization of spectrum to make sure that each of the spectrum is assigned to contiguous blocks.
“We are confident we can do this. The prices of telecommunications will go down, for example, because there will be less investment in radio units for telecommunications,” Dy said.
To date, more than 3,000 common towers have been set up. For this year alone, another 3,000 common towers are expected, the DICT said.
In a related development, DICT Secretary Ivan John Uy will join fellow ministers, representatives from the United Nations, non-government organizations, civil society members, academe and C-level industry leaders in exploring possible applications of artificial intelligence (AI) to address pressing global development issues, such as health, climate, gender, inclusive prosperity and sustainable infrastructure, during the two-day global ICT World Summit in Geneva, Switzerland, from May 27 to 30.
The DICT’s participation underscores the country’s commitment to leveraging AI for positive societal impact and to shaping the future of AI governance in the country and beyond.
The DICT also maintains its tradition of global ICT excellence, with projects spearheaded by its Regional Office IV-B and X to be recognized as champions in the WSIS Prizes 2024.
DICT Region IV-B’s “eLGU-IBPLS: Streamlining the Process of Business Permits and Licenses for Business Owners Project” won in Category 7 for E-Government, while DICT Region X’s “Regional Disaster Network Project” was feted as a champion in Category 2 for Information and Communication Infrastructure. – Myla Iglesias
