GLOBE Telecom plans to forge an agreement with the League of the Vice Governors in the Philippines (LVGP) in building telco infrastructures in the country as it envisions ushering the country to become a digital nation by year 2020.
Michelle Ora, director of the Globe Business Development Site Acquisition Management Network Technical Group, in an interview with the media at Park Inn Hotel Monday evening, October 17, said they will sign the memorandum of agreement with the LVGP before 2016 ends.
Ora said the contract with LVGP will help drive cooperation among local government units (LGUs) to fast track permits not more than 10 days, facilitate right of way, rationalize the fees charged to people, uniform ordinance across LGUs, and reduce approvals to only three signatures.
Globe will rationalize the permitting process to mitigate bureaucratic red tape and other political hurdles that stand in the way of deploying telecommunication like cell sites and fiber optic cables.
If implemented, this will enable the company to improve data connectivity at lower rates.
Ora said this would exempt Information and Communications Technology infrastructure from zoning clearances, co-location of Globe facilities in LGU-owned or controlled properties.
LGUs may also build their own infrastructures and providers will lease infrastructures from the LGUs.
"The time to process the permit should be short, second, in terms of post the LGUs will also rationalize it and third, rationalizing the process also means the signatories will be cut down to three. As of now our standard time to process the permits, it takes eight months, and for every site that we build we need to submit 25 different permits," Ora said.
Globe president and chief-executive-officer Ernest Cu, in a statement, said that collaboration with government in developing key telecommunications infrastructure would enhance digital capabilities of the country, enabling local industries and communities to access services and improve productivity.
Cu said securing different permits at LGU level could be very challenging, from the sheer number of permits to different political personalities that mobile operators have to deal with it.
"Can you imagine the number of permits we need to submit if we need to rollout 1,000 cell sites and to complete the 25 permits, it takes eight months. To partner with the league will really help us fast track everything. Basically, they are going to encourage the LGUs to create ordinances to fast track their procedure," Ora added.
In exchange of this cooperation, Ora said, Globe Telecom can provide either free broadbands, wifi or closed circuit television cameras, whichever is relevant.
Ora also said that Globe could also help the LGUs by providing business consulting to determine best solution relevant to the municipality or city.
This effort is in support to President Rodrigo Duterte's announcement during his inaugural speech on June 30 and his first State of the Nation Address on July 25 concerning the slow internet speed in the country.
Globe earlier launched a plan to create an internet superhighway nationwide, aiming to deploy fiber optic in 20,000 villages by 2020 for ultra-fast internet access to around 2 million homes nationwide and also plans to deploy fiber optics in 1,000 sites before this year ends.