President Aquino pushes broadband

President Benigno Aquino III

The country will have a broadband network yet.

President Benigno Aquino III said his administration will come up with a national broadband network to link all government agencies electronically. At the same time he assured the public it would not be like the controversial NBN-ZTE deal that was scrapped by his predecessor.

“Reviving it in something similar to the ZTE, no way,’’ Mr. Aquino told reporters, referring to the broadband project of the Arroyo administration that was allegedly attended by large-scale corruption.

Former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo had initially firmed up a $329-million agreement with China’s ZTE Corp. for a national broadband network but she scrapped it in 2007 following allegations of kickbacks involving her husband, Jose Miguel Arroyo, and ranking government officials in the project.

Speaking to reporters, President Aquino acknowledged there was “a need’’ for a broadband project and said the Department of Science and Technology was on top of making it happen.

“The DOST is (making an inventory) presently on what we do have as the basis for a broadband network,’’ he said.

Mr. Aquino said it was his “position’’ that the government “engage’’ the local telecommunication firms in the project, noting that “they are ready as far as broadband is concerned.’’

“Utilizing what we do already have to meet the need, that is currently being assessed and the plan is being drawn up by the DOST,” he said.

The President said the DOST had reported to him its findings on the scuttled ZTE deal that showed “how wrong it was and how obsolete it would have been by the time it would have been set up.”