Palo: Governors in Eastern Visayas have welcomed the inclusion of the region in the National Fiber Backbone (NFB) Phases 2 and 3, as this will unlock economic opportunities in poor communities. Eastern Samar Governor Ralph Vincent Evardone said the project allows remote villages to be connected through the internet. 'This will support our objective to bring the services of the provincial capitol to each barangay. Hosting the fiber backbone is very timely, with many people in our province relying on connectivity for their work, studies, and communication with others,' Evardone told reporters.
According to Philippines News Agency, of the 597 villages in one city and 22 towns in Eastern Samar, some 186 communities have no access to the internet or have poor mobile phone signal. Biliran Governor Rogelio Espina said the NFB launch in Eastern Visayas will create jobs in remote areas with limited opportunities. 'The launch of the project is timely since we are planning to set up a provincial call center to create employment for jobless college graduates,' Espina said. Biliran is one of the country's smallest and newest provinces, with more than half of 132 villages having no access to the internet, according to the governor.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Monday led the launching of the NFB Project Phases 2 and 3 in Palo, Leyte, as part of government efforts to extend fast and reliable internet access across more regions in the country, especially in remote and underserved communities. The expanded phases of the NFB will provide an additional 100 gigabits per second (Gbps) of bandwidth through 31 new nodes of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), benefiting at least 20 provinces, 1,000 government agencies, and an estimated 1.39 million users.
Phases 2 and 3 will expand coverage in Luzon from Cagayan Valley to Calabarzon and the Bicol Region, traverse Eastern Visayas, and establish the groundwork for future connectivity in Mindanao by linking Cagayan de Oro and Davao cities. Last year, the national government launched NFB Phase 1 - the first and only government-owned fiber backbone spanning 1,245 kilometers from Laoag, Ilocos Norte to Roces, Quezon City, in addition to the fiber networks provided by private telecommunication companies.
The Department of Information and Communications Technology, which leads the project, aims to fully connect the country by 2028 through succeeding NFB phases, the Middle Mile Network, and last-mile programs like GovNet and Free Public Internet Access.
