In its push to develop more digital infra projects in the Philippines, the DICT has inked a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the Philippines’ Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Center to support the agency’s upcoming projects. Through the signed MOA, the PPP Center hopes that DICT will extend its assistance in helping other agencies who are developing their own IT projects and help them evaluate proposals.

Some of the ongoing digital infra projects the DICT is working on include a fiber-enabled free public internet access project, where they plan to build an underground fiber optic conduit network from La Union to Sorsogon. Aside from that, another major digital infra project of the DICT is the establishment of government network access in Marinduque and Ilocos Norte.

With the increasing adoption of digital platforms, DICT Sec. Ivan John Uy said there’s an urgent need to improve connectivity and cybersecurity nationwide. “We need to bring connectivity to all mountainous regions, island groups that the telcos have been hesitant in putting up those investments mainly because of economic considerations… so [the] government has to come in and bridge that divide[s] by providing first mover connectivity in those areas,” Uy said at a forum.

Aside from its inked partnership with the PPP Center, the DICT also inked a partnership with SpaceX to bring internet connectivity to remote areas using the latter’s Starlink satellites. “The challenge has always been these far-flung areas that do not have this broadband connectivity because the telcos find it not suitable, not feasible for them to make those kinds of investments in those areas,” Uy previously said on the DICT’s partnership with SpaceX.