MANILA — The Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) is set to put up government satellite networks (GSN) in Sultan Kudarat, Samar, Pampanga, and Isabela ahead of President Rodrigo Duterte’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 23.
Radio-Television Malacañang (RTVM) Executive Director Demic Pabalan said most of the recipients are barrios that have no access to television at all.
In an interview with reporters on Wednesday, Pabalan said the GSN deployment is expected within the week.
PCOO Secretary Martin Andanar said the satellite network will not only provide the areas access to government television programs, but access to a faster internet signal as well.
“This is to reach out to the remotest areas na hindi naaabot ng telebisyon, internet, mobile. Pinapakita natin na yung gobyerno talaga natin, through technology, is reaching out to the farthest barangays yung bang pakiramdam nila naiwan na sila (This is to reach out to the remotest areas that have no access to television, internet, mobile phones. We’re showing here that through technology, the government is reaching out to the farthest villages, those which feel that they have been left out),” Andanar said.
The official earlier said a total of 42,000 barrios would benefit from the distribution of set-top boxes or satellite receivers, which began last June.
The GSN can transmit government videos, photos, and data even to remote parts of the country and the rest of the world via advanced satellite and IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) technology. (Joyce Ann L. Rocamora/PNA)