Globe backs Valenzuela City’s dream for ICT hub

Globe Telecom Inc. is backing Valenzuela City’s plan to become a Silicon Valley-inspired information and communication technology (ICT) hub in the Philippines.

In a statement over the weekend, the telco giant said it would power the ICT hub as part of its commitment to inclusive access to the growing digital economy.

Globe Group general counsel Froilan Castelo said they hope this would “translate access into real opportunity.” The ICT hub is envisioned to create about eight million jobs in three years’ time.

Castelo also serves as president of the Philippine Chamber of Telecommunication Operators.

According to the industry group, the planned “premier” ICT center would host green data centers, an academy, a business incubation ecosystem, co-working spaces, digital retail areas, as well as government services.

Starting off with an ICT academy, it would be developed in a 1.9-hectare property with six interconnected buildings. These include academic facilities, a business process outsourcing hub, and an ICT museum.

Castelo said there is a need to boost the country’s digital literacy, with about 42 percent of the workforce lacking digital skills.

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A technical working group would be established to conduct feasibility studies on the ICT hub and to check the required investment to build it.

For the launch of the hub, Valuenzuela’s City Hall has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Department of Information and Communications Technology.

Globe has spent billions of pesos to beef up its infrastructure across the country, reaching even remote areas.