DICT to bolster Luzon bypass network
The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) has set aside P39.9 million for a project that will bolster the protection route of the government’s Luzon Bypass Infrastructure.
Based on bidding documents, the DICT is seeking a service provider that will lease two dark-fiber cores to serve as a protection route in case the primary network link is disrupted.
Dark fiber refers to installed but unused fiber-optic cables that are not yet carrying data traffic. Fiber-optic networks, meanwhile, serve as the digital highways through which internet and data services are transmitted.
DICT said the project covers a 12-month lease agreement, with the winning bidder responsible for installing the fiber connection, conducting tests and commissioning the service.
Apart from leasing the dark-fiber cores, the provider will also install fiber gaps connecting to the National Fiber Backbone, the government’s multi-phase project that the DICT has said could benefit about 70 million Filipinos.
The leased fiber would provide “reliable, secure and uninterrupted redundancy” for the Luzon Bypass Infrastructure, the DICT said.
Launched in 2017, the Luzon Bypass Infrastructure is a 240-kilometer fiber-optic corridor linking Baler, Aurora on Luzon’s eastern seaboard to San Fernando, La Union on the west coast. It includes two cable landing stations, four repeater stations and supporting terrestrial facilities.
The project was developed through a partnership among the DICT, Bases Conversion and Development Authority and Meta Platforms Inc., the parent company of Facebook and Instagram.
