The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) expects two United States-based satellite internet providers to begin operating in the Philippines this year, a move seen to expand connectivity options and increase competition in the broadband market.
DICT Secretary Henry Aguda said the first provider is expected to finalize its rollout this month, while the second is targeted to launch before the end of the year.
Both companies have already completed proof-of-concept testing, Aguda said.
The expected entry of new satellite internet players comes as the government pushes reforms under the Konektadong Pinoy Act, which Aguda earlier said could attract at least US$1.5 billion in annual investments from new telecommunications companies.
The law’s implementing rules and regulations are intended to reduce connectivity costs by simplifying the entry of new internet service providers, encouraging competition, and speeding up permit registration processes.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has also opened the telecommunications sector to full foreign ownership under the 13th Foreign Investment Negative List, giving foreign investors wider access to one of the country’s most capital-intensive industries.
Aguda said the DICT has also secured grants worth US$1.7 million and US$2.5 million from international funding institutions to help craft a strategy under the National Digital Connectivity Plan.
The grants will support efforts to expand fiber infrastructure in Luzon and Mindanao.
“We are currently processing the grants and coordinating with the Department of Finance,” Aguda said.
Under the National Digital Connectivity Plan, the government aims to bring down broadband costs by 40 to 80 percent by 2028.
The DICT said mobile broadband in the Philippines currently costs 1.56 percent of gross national income (GNI) per capita, about 1.8 times higher than the ASEAN average. Fixed broadband remains less affordable at 4.69 percent of GNI per capita, more than double the rates in Malaysia and Vietnam.
To address these gaps, the Philippines is targeting major improvements in internet speeds, with mobile broadband expected to reach 22.65 megabits per second (Mbps) and fixed broadband 210.64 Mbps.
The government also wants the country to post steady annual gains in the Network Readiness Index while connecting all public schools, barangays, and health centers to the internet.
Other targets include creating eight million digital jobs, establishing about 130,000 free Wi-Fi sites, and connecting the remaining 7,063 geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas (GIDAs) across the country.