Through the NBP, government agencies will only need to shell out P50 per megabits per second (Mbps) of Internet bandwidth per month compared to the P350 per megabits they are paying now.
This means that an average size agency which requires a 100 Mbps shared Internet connectivity across a whole building spends around P35,000 per month, or P420,000 a year.
With the NBP, an average office will only need to pay P5,000 a month, or P60,000 a year for the same speed, resulting in huge savings hat can be used for other programs and projects, and in improving social services.
“We can expect that by the end of 2020, Phase 1 of the NBP will begin operations, and by 2021, we can already feel the effects of said initiative,”DICT Secretary Gregorio B. Honasan II said.
For Phase 1, the DICT will activate the cable landing station in Baler, Aurora and connect to the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines node in San Fernando La Union through the Luzon bypass infrastructure. DICT will then activate and light up 4 DICT nodes and 15 NGCP nodes that will connect with the various DICT equipment.
The NBP is the government’s blueprint to accelerate the deployment of fiber optic cables and wireless technologies across the country to provide broader, faster, and more affordable internet access.
By 2022, if the DICT’s additional budget request of P17 billion for fiscal year 2021 is approved, the proposed phase 2 of the NBP will cover Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. This will translate to estimated savings of around P344 billion in government internet expense.
In perspective, neighboring countries with similar initiatives, such as Indonesia, Australia, and New Zealand allotted significantly higher budgets for their national broadband network.
Indonesia reportedly allocated over $22 billions (P1.07 trillion ) for its 5-year national broadband plan, while Australia and New Zealand budgeted $37 billion (P1.79 trillion pesos) and $1.19 billion (P58 billion s), respectively.
Other countries such as Singapore are improving their systems by spending around $550 million (P26.72 billion pesos) and opening up their network to all service providers.
