Cheaper internet soon? House OKs bill promoting satellite-based tech

By Billy Begas

The House of Representatives has approved on second reading the measure seeking the use of satellite-based technologies in education and other civic causes.

The proposed Satellite-Based Technologies Promotion Act (House Bill 9070) was approved via voice voting.

Albay Rep. Joey Salceda, author of the measure said the looser rules on satellite internet will help rural communities get cheap access to web.

Salceda lamented that “the farther a community is from a main island like Luzon or Mindanao, the less likely one is to get internet. That is a source of inequality in wealth among the regions, especially now that many economic opportunities are tech-based.”

“In fact, much of the country’s underserved areas are in regions off Luzon island. In the Visayas, where major island groups may not be large enough to attract investment in internet infrastructure, internet use is at the lowest level in the country, at 34%,” Salceda said.

Salceda said Executive Order 467 issued in 1998 restricts the Access to International Fixed Satellite Systems to “enfranchised telecommunications entities duly authorized by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to provide international telecommunications services,” and broadcast service providers.

“We have recently moved in the right direction. President Rodrigo Duterte signed on March 10, Executive Order No. 127, liberalizing access to satellite services, which seeks to expand the provision of internet services through the use of satellite technologies in order to provide Filipinos with improved access to internet connectivity,” Salceda added.

According to the Department of Information and Communication Technology (DICT), there are 48 satellites ready to deliver bandwidth to the Philippines, said Salceda.

“Affordable internet access in the countryside will help diffuse high-paying freelance jobs and even the BPO sector away from Manila. Most job opportunities available on the internet do not care whether you’re in the province or in NCR. That is why connecting everyone, even the farthest communities in the farthest islands, to the internet is important to me. It’s a tool for social equity,” Salceda pointed out.

Under the measure, a clear regulatory framework will be crafted and allow internet service providers (ISPs) and value-added services (VAS) providers to build and operate their own network using satellite technology.

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Source: Latest Politics News Today (Politics.com.ph)