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.