SYDNEY, Australia – Speedcast International Limited, the world’s most trusted provider of highly-reliable, fully-managed, remote communication and IT solutions, has signed an agreement with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in support of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) of the Philippine government in order to bring internet connectivity and public Wi-Fi services to 3,000 remote areas across eleven regions in the Philippines.
With an initial 23-month commitment, the initial contract term has a value of US$14.4 million, renewable for an additional two more years of service.
Undersecretary Eliseo M. Rio Jr. and assistant secretary Ivin Ronald Alzona of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) witnessed the contract signing ceremony between the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) resident representative Titon Mitra, and Speedcast to install, operate and maintain free public internet service for 3,000 remote sites all over the Philippines.
Speedcast is delighted to be collaborating with UNDP and the DICT on the first phase of a wider project to deploy internet service in remote areas across the Philippines. The project will deliver access to information and education through connectivity services to many regions for the first time and has the potential to spur economic growth and significantly help the Philippine government in its efforts to close the digital divide.
Speedcast will install and manage connectivity to all sites and will provide 24×7 technical support and field services. More than 60 percent of sites will be powered by solar energy, with all sites supported by battery backup to maintain service when standard power sources aren’t available.
“With this agreement, Speedcast will become the largest VSAT internet service provider in the Philippines, which is a strategic growth market for the group as we invest to deliver connectivity to thousands of rural sites,” said Pierre-Jean Beylier, chief executive officer (CEO), Speedcast. “We look forward to working with the Philippine government and UNDP to address the connectivity needs of the most remote communities in the nation and to make a real contribution to improving the quality of life.”
