Hyalroute eyes $2-B fiber optic project

Singapore-based Hyalroute Group is planning to invest nearly $2 billion to roll out fiber optic cables in the Philippine over the next two years to upgrade the country’s Internet services.

The Department of Information and Communications and Technology (DICT) said the network infrastructure network would deploy fiber cables through the Fiber Optic Cable Network initiative of its subsidiary Philippine Fiber Optic Cable Network Ltd. Inc. (PFOCN) in various phases between 2019 to 2028.

“There is a need for more fiber optic cables in this country, thus this partnership will greatly improve our telecommunication services. We can now have cable networks that anybody can use and this jives with our National Broadband Plan,” acting Secretary Eliseo M. Rio Jr. said.

The DICT will provide assistance to PFOCN in procuring the needed permits and licenses for the successful implementation of their initiative.

The partnership was formalized through the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement with PFOCN last Thursday.

The rollout of the fiber optic cables will also form part of the DICT’s Free Public Wi-Fi network to reach the unserved and underserved areas in the country.

The DICT is pushing for the establishment of a National Broadband Network to improve Internet connectivity especially in the rural areas of the country, by utilizing a 6,154-kilometer dark fiber network spanning from Luzon to Mindanao.