DICT rolling out national broadband plan

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) is set to unveil its National Broadband Plan (NBP) and two other projects on June 23, in a bid to improve the ICT sector.

In a statement, the DICT said it will launch its NBP on June 23, in line with the celebration of National ICT Month 2017.

“The NBP provides the blueprint for a broadband infrastructure that will interconnect government offices across the country and enable the citizens to gain access to telecommunication services, especially in remote areas,” the DICT said.

Upon the establishment of the DICT last year, President Duterte tasked the department to craft the NBP in line with addressing the country’s internet speed problems.

Apart from the unveiling of the NBP, the DICT said it will also reintroduce the free wi-fi project called Pipol Konek, and launch the National Government Portal or gov.ph.

“Launching the said projects will facilitate the development of an ICT-enabled nation geared toward sustainable socio-economic growth,” the DICT said.

The DICT said the Philippines is expected to achieve digital literacy through its Pipol Konek project, which provides free wi-fi internet access in public places.

Meanwhile, the government portal or gov.ph, will serve as a single website for all government information, transactions and services.

The DICT will hold various activities that showcase individual servicesits programs, such as Innovation, Integrated Government Philippines (iGovPhil), and National ICT Competency Management (NCM).

“Among the scheduled activities are workshops promoting “technopreneurship” and ICT-enable professions, digital literacy training for out-of-school youth, information caravan and free training on programming and content management system,” the agency said.