THE government of South Korea is expected to extend in the next two years an additional $8 million in grant to the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to create an interference-free radio environment by enhancing the institutional capacity of the regulator in managing the spectrums.
The amount is on top of Korea International Cooperation Agency’s (Koica) $4-million aid that the NTC got this year for the establishment of a radio-frequency monitoring and direction-finding system in Metro Manila.
“The P200 million worth of equipment gives us the power to monitor illegal frequencies. It allows us to detect and monitor the exact location of telcos and broadcast companies that use frequencies above their allocation, thereby congesting the system,” NTC Deputy Commissioner Delilah F. Deles said in an interview on Thursday.
South Korean envoy to the Philippines, Ambassador Kim Jae-shin, Koica Country Director Min-hyeon Song, and Central Radio Management Office Director General Donghyeong Lee led the formal turnover ceremonies of one central monitoring center, three fixed monitoring stations and provision of one mobile monitoring station and one portable monitoring equipment.
“This one is for Metro Manila alone. Our next target is to roll this technology out in the Visayas and Mindanao, which will require another P400 million each. We will be requesting for this once we’ve proven that the technology is successful for Metro Manila,” Deles said.
The deployment of the new technology will mean “more revenues from the government.”
When a telco or a broadcast company was proven to have been using frequencies beyond its allocation, Deles said, the regulator may impose a fine that ranges from P100,000 to a million pesos.
“Right now, we don’t have much data on the illegal utilization of frequencies, as we only do it manually in the past. But if companies are proven to do this, they will be penalized,” she said.
The Philippines is the second-largest recipient of aid from Koica, with over $21.8 million in pledges, comprising of 4.6 percent of the total budget of Koica through 2017.