DOST: CONTROVERSIAL ZTE CAN STILL BID FOR NBN / NEW NBN WON'T BE ZTE
[PHOTO - DOST secretary Mario Montejo (left) and undersecretary Graciano Yumul]
MANILA, SEPTEMBER 13, 2011 (STAR) By Helen Flores - Controversial Chinese telecommunications firm ZTE Corp. can still join the bidding for the proposed national broadband network (NBN) of the Aquino administration once the government decides to pursue it, Science Secretary Mario Montejo said yesterday.
Montejo, however, said he would prefer that ZTE not participate in the Philippine government's NBN project due to the Chinese firm's involvement in the anomalous $329-million contract with the previous administration.
Montejo noted ZTE is the world's second largest supplier of telecommunications equipment. The Chinese firm had been involved in the alleged overpricing of the NBN contract with the Philippine government under the administration of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
"We still have to submit our project to the Cabinet and the President. Actually I don't know ZTE. Their project before is wireless; this (government broadband network) is wired. I don't know if they also have the technology for fiber optic," Montejo told a weekly media forum at the Diamond Hotel in Malate, Manila.
Asked if the government would still allow ZTE Corp. to participate in the bidding for the broadband project, Montejo said he is hoping the Chinese telecommunications firm would refrain from doing so.
"I hope they will not join… that is only a wish, I don't know if we can enforce it," he said.
Montejo revealed there are other companies who have expressed interest in the government's broadband project but there were no formal agreements yet.
Montejo also defended the capability of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) to implement the government broadband project.
He shrugged off criticisms that the DOST was favored by President Aquino to implement the project over the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) because he was a brother-in-law of Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr.
"We have the right people to handle it," Montejo said.
"Actually one of the agencies of the DOST, the ASTI (Advanced Science and Technology Institute), is also into communication. It's been there for 20 years, even before 10-15 years ago ASTI was developing our own satellite, there are also some talks to revive it… so definitely we have the right people for communication," he said.
To prevent a repeat of the NBN-ZTE scandal, Montejo said they are looking at entering into a five-year contract with private firms to allow immediate replacement for unsatisfactory performance.
"Broadband is definitely a necessity," Montejo said, stressing this would improve government services.
"Through ICT (information and communications technology), you can get NBI clearance, PhilHealth, birth certificate," he said.
Montejo said the DOST study is looking into different approaches, such as using existing yet under-utilized government fiber-optic and other assets; bidding out to the private sector the opportunity to co-develop these assets and maintain a broadband infrastructure, and exploring innovative ways on how the government can possibly leverage these assets in dealing with existing commercial broadband network operators to achieve its goal of a cost-efficient, high-speed, high capacity broadband.
"The DOST study is considering the use of existing government fiber optic assets and microwave facilities that are currently underutilized to serve as backbone for a possible government broadband infrastructure," he said.
Montejo said the facilities can be found in existing National Transmission Corp. (Transco) transmission lines, MRT and LRT transmission lines, and TELOF (Telecommunications Office) lines that are laid all over the country.
He said the DOST is likely to submit its study to the President by the end of the month.
"To ignore these underutilized assets is not sound economics. While other countries are presently toiling to lay their fiber optic network for broadband use, we have an extensive fiber optic network already in place that has tremendous capacity potential but which remains untapped and underutilized," he said.
The DOST is also looking at the private sector to support and maintain the broadband infrastructure, Montejo said.
He said it would take them one year to implement the broadband project in Metro Manila.
"Definitely, the private sector would normally always run these things better. That is why we see them playing a key role in this possible undertaking. We have made prior consultations with all the major telco players and heard no objections so far," Montejo said.
"They are even excited about the prospects of a government network increasing the overall broadband use in the country with the addition of potential capacity coming from the untapped fiber optic assets of government," he said.
Last week, party-list Rep. Teddy Casiño of Bayan Muna and former Gabriela congresswoman Liza Maza filed new plunder charges against Arroyo before the Office of the Ombudsman for her alleged involvement in the cancelled NBN-ZTE contract in 2006.
The latest complaint over the NBN-ZTE deal was the sixth plunder case filed separately at the Ombudsman and the Department of Justice (DOJ) against the former president now Pampanga representative.
DOST: New broadband network is not a ZTE Posted on 12 Sep 2011 at 4:42pm
Parrying the increasing number of oppositions to the new government broadband network, Department of Science and Technology (DOST) secretary Mario Montejo said in a statement on Monday that the proposed project would enhance efficiency in government operations and will not turn into another ZTE scandal.
Montejo Montejo clarified that the government network under study is only a part of an overall digital strategy for the country now being developed by the DOST through its Information and Communications Technology Office (ICTO).
"We are guided by the Philippine Digital Strategy that was crafted through extensive consultations with the different ICT stakeholders," Montejo said.
"Once the strategy is in place, the DOST will pursue four priority programs in the areas of: e-government, Internet-for-all, ensuring further growth of the ICT-BPO industry, and cyber-security," he stated.
The DOST, together with relevant government agencies, will implement e-government strategies and programs to achieve transparency at all levels of government using broadband, primarily through a fiber-optic network, according to Montejo.
"Broadband will forever change the way we receive services from government, how we teach our school children, how government will provide health care and save people from natural disasters," the DOST chief stated.
"We hope to see the day when Filipino job-seekers applying for work here and abroad need not endure agonizing queues just to obtain all the clearances they need because all the requirements like NBI and other documents can be secured online," added Montejo.
The DOST said there is also need to provide adequate bandwidth throughout the country to ensure ICT access in underserved and un-served areas, especially in schools.
"We propose bandwidth speeds of 4 Mbps for schools so that schoolchildren will fully enjoy the benefits of interactive learning. Currently, the access of Philippine schools to the Internet has a speed of 64-512 kb. In Thailand, by comparison, public schools get an average of 10 Mbps," Montejo noted.
The DOST secretary said the "goals of improving e-governance and providing Internet accessibility for all are achievable through an efficient, high-capacity, high- speed, and secure information highway that should be available and affordable to everyone."
"Broadband is definitely a necessity. The challenge now is for government to address this requirement by way of a technically superior and more importantly, cost-efficient solution. This is what the on-going DOST study is all about," Montejo said.
The DOST study, he said, is looking into different approaches, which include: 1) using existing yet underutilized government fiber-optic and other assets, 2) bidding out to the private sector the opportunity to co-develop these assets and maintain a broadband infrastructure, and 3) exploring innovative ways on how government can possibly leverage these assets in dealing with existing commercial broadband network operators to achieve its goal of a cost-efficient, high-speed, high capacity broadband
"The DOST study is considering the use of existing government fiber optic assets and microwave facilities that are currently underutilized to serve as backbone for a possible government broadband infrastructure. These are found in existing Transco transmission lines, MRT and LRT transmission lines, and Telof facilities laid all over the country.".
"To ignore these underutilized assets is not sound economics. While other countries are presently toiling to lay their fiber optic network for broadband use, we have an extensive fiber optic network already in place that has tremendous capacity potential but which remains untapped and under-utilized. Di ba nakakapanghinayang?" Montejo said.
The DOST is likewise looking at the private sector to support and maintain the broadband infrastructure, he said.
"Definitely, the private sector would normally always run these things better. That is why we see them playing a key role in this possible undertaking. We have made prior consultations with all the major telco players and heard no objections so far. They are even excited about the prospects of a government network increasing the overall broadband use in the country with the addition of potential capacity coming from the untapped fiber-optic assets of government." Montejo clarified.
Montejo said the DOST is also considering options such the Indefeasible Right of Use (IRU), considered a best practice worldwide, for government to secure its high-capacity, high-speed, secure broadband requirement.
Indefeasible right of use (IRU) is a contractual agreement between the operators of a communications cable or a fiber optic network, and a client.
The government can either be a preferred client of a telco owning a fiber optic network or a wielder of an IRU by virtue of its assets. The IRU allows a long-term lease — usually about 25 years — of a fiber optic cable, the DOST said.
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