New telcos may be required to link Mindanao first - DICT

New telco players entering the Philippines through the Konektadong Pinoy Act will be asked to first improve connectivity access in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas (GIDAs) before challenging industry incumbents in high-traffic areas.

- By ELIJAH FELICE ROSALES

Specifically, Mindanao's farthest towns will benefit from better access if President Marcos signs the measure into law, according to Department of Information and Communications Secretary Henry Aguda.

Based on data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), four in five families in Zamboanga Peninsula have no access to the internet as of 2024 while in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, internet penetration also falters at 27.7 percent.

Aguda said these regions would be the first to gain from the Konektadong Pinoy Act.

The measure will lapse into law on Aug. 24 if unacted upon by President Marcos. With a few days left before the deadline, the DICT is now drafting the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) to prepare for enforcement.

Aguda shared with The STAR some sections of the draft IRR, and one of the provisions that stood out is the requirement for new connectivity providers to invest in GIDAS.