Philippine telecommunications companies are urging the government to subsidize data plans to connect underserved Filipino households by 2028. The proposal, put forward by Globe Telecom Inc. and supported by the country’s three major mobile network operators (MNOs), aims to provide SIM cards with a monthly load of 50GB for a year to unconnected households. This would cover the average internet usage of a five-member household, offering access to education, healthcare, government services, and economic opportunities in remote areas.
Globe CEO Ernest Cu, who leads the Connectivity Plan Task Force (CPTF) under the Private Sector Advisory Council (PSAC), emphasized the importance of government support to achieve this goal, particularly in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas (GIDAs) where building infrastructure has been challenging for the private sector.
The proposal also includes plans to utilize existing towers and develop new infrastructure in GIDAs. However, the telcos stressed the need for legislative reforms to streamline the permitting process for building new cell sites.
President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., in his recent State of the Nation Address (SONA), pledged support for policies that promote common tower construction, as only 77% of Filipino households had internet access in 2022.
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