RP satellite stations

RP satellite stations

MANILA (AFP): President Fidel Ramos yesterday announced the
start of a 1.8 billion peso (US$67 million) project to set up 87
satellite stations to link the archipelago's most isolated parts.

Ramos said the project would allow even the most distant towns
in the country to enjoy telephone services, adding that "by
making it possible for far-flung rural communities to emerge from
their isolation... we hope to further boost economic activity in
the countryside.

"The network of earth stations will also serve as a back-up to
existing land-based telecommunication transmission systems, known
as backbone networks," the palace said.

Capitol Wireless Inc., a wholly Filipino-owned firm, which is
setting up the system through a joint venture with the Department
of Transportation and Communications, said that all 86 stations
are due to be completed by 1995.

Under the joint venture, the department, using funding from
the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), will
provide equipment for 56 stations while Capwire will put up 30
with Capwire operating the whole system.