1st phase of Nat'l Broadband Plan completed next year: DICT

Manila, June 26 -- The first phase of the fiber backbone for the National Broadband Plan (NBP) is set to be completed early next year, an official of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) said on Tuesday.

DICT Undersecretary Denis Villorente said the first phase involves the use of the dark fiber or unused fiber optic cables by the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) and the National Transmission Corporation (TransCo).

"Congress approved a PHP1-billion budget this year so that we can initially light up some parts of the fiber by TransCo and managed by NGCP. If the timeline is followed, that should happen by first to second quarter of next year," Villorente said in a press briefing.

The NBP's i...