THE Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) said it is working to obtain foreign loans to finance the middle-mile fiber component of the national broadband plan.
“There are two potential loans right now, $300 million from the World Bank, and another $500 million for the middle-mile fiber project,” Information and Communications Technology Secretary Henry Rhoel R. Aguda told BusinessWorld on the sidelines of an event.
The National Broadband Plan has five components — the first being the fiber backbone connecting Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao.
The DICT is currently working on phases 4 and 5 of the national fiber backbone project, which is expected to be completed next year.
“The additional $500 million is for the middle-mile fiber. So the backbone is becoming fiber, as well as our middle mile and last mile,” he said, declining to identify which entity will provide the funding. — Ashley Erika O. Jose