STATE-LED National Transmission Corp. (TransCo) will roll out communications infrastructure on power lines to connect rural public schools to the internet, the Department of Finance (DoF) said.
TransCo has tested the information and communications technology that will use existing power line infrastructure to help the Department of Education (DepEd) link public schools to the internet.
“The internet system will be developed with the cooperation of the electric cooperatives nationwide by lending to the government their power lines for the high-speed internet connection,” DoF said in a statement on Tuesday.
Under its Project Lightning, TransCo will enable the transfer of large amounts of data at high speeds using technology installed on power distribution lines and poles. This will connect schools to the internet without installing new cellphone towers or laying fiber optic cables.
The project will prioritize rural schools expected to be left out by telecommunications firms that do not see the areas as commercially viable because broadband construction would prove too expensive and unprofitable.
TransCo had done studies on information and communications technologies for power grids over three years.
“Through laboratory tests and live trials with the University of the Philippines-Los Baños power distribution system, TransCo concluded that two newly invented technologies can transmit large data at very high speed and can be rapidly deployed using the existing power lines infrastructure,” TransCo President and Chief Executive Melvin Matibag said.
The DepEd’s Public Education Network-Communications Infrastructure for Learning (PEN-CIL) project aims to connect more schools to the internet, which Mr. Matibag said will support learning continuity during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
Mr. Matibag said the move would translate into new revenue sources for TransCo ”when it performs the function of administrator and system operator of the DepEd’s PEN-CIL while it is able to support the government’s development objectives.” — Jenina P. Ibañez
