The Philippine Online Chronicles

The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) is pushing for a new broadband project for the creation of a government broadband network, an abs-cbnnews.com report said.

"DOST said the GBN project will cost P800 million, less than half of the P2 billion that government spends for Internet connectivity," ABS-CBN News said based on the documents that they obtained.

The same report said that DOST confirmed that it submitted a government broadband network proposal, but DOST Secretary Mario Montejo declined to give details on it.

Under the scenarios in the proposal, the government could spend as low as P788 million and as high as P2.65 billion, depending on the bandwidth of the network.

"We are finishing our current studies before submitting it to President Aquino. Maybe in 1 month, we will give him the study," Secretary Montejo said.

Montejo added there are existing government assets such as fiber optic cables that can be used for the connectivity project. Interconnecting government offices will be the first step before going nationwide, he said.

While he acknowledged that while a broadband project "has a bad image, the need to improve government services is more imperative, more important."

Annually, the government spends around P2 billion for internet connectivity, a price which was questioned by National Broadband Network (NBN) deal whistleblower Jun Lozada in light of proposals to push through with a broadband project.

The botched $329 million NBN contract with ZTE Corp., which was the subject of controversial Senate hearings, spurred a political firestorm against Arroyo.

“Lozada warned that the government should check their assumptions and figures before proceeding with any major project, and then ensure that the project conforms with the specifications in the contract,” a report said.

Last month, Kabataan party-list Rep. Raymond “Mong” Palatino revealed that the government would be spending P1.16 billion for telegrams while allocating zero budget for procurement of internet equipment and computers under the so-called e-governance.

Palatino said President Aquino’s ICT programs are misleading because of the mismatch in his funding priority.