One of the concrete accomplishments of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in this ongoing trip to the United States is the forging of five major agreements between private sectors from the Philippines and the United States. These accords are expected to enhance the investment climate in the Philippines, generate hundreds of new jobs for local workers, and push the nation to a new age of technological advancement and innovation.
Among these agreements, we believe the most important is the collaboration between Filipino and American companies aimed at deploying the Philippines' first-ever internet satellites to improve connectivity in far-flung areas of the country.
Marcos witnessed the signing of an agreement between California-based company Astranis Space Technologies and Philippine-based satellite firm Orbits Corp. at the sidelines of the 2023 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in San Francisco, California.
"Astranis and Orbits have also joined forces to bring internet connectivity to unserved and underserved areas in the Philippines. This $400 million partnership will help bridge our digital divide and foster our digital transformation," the Chief Executive said after the signing of the agreement, obviously happy that another step towards digitalization of the Philippines has been successfully taken.
Through the partnership, Orbits and Astranis will deploy the first two internet satellites dedicated to the Philippines, a program that is expected to generate $400 million in investment in the next eight years.
These MicroGEO satellites will provide internet service in the unserved and underserved areas of the Philippines, covering up to 10 million users and 30,000 barangay (villages).
The program is projected to create more than 10,000 jobs for direct and indirect employees and partners.
The first satellite will be called “Agila,” after the Philippine eagle, a fitting symbol of the Filipino nation eager to attain a better status among the world’s developing economies.
Just like our eagle, the nation will soar to new heights as it gains greater access to the digital world.
#OpinYonSubic #Editorial #InternetSatellitesForPH #PBBM #BBM #Marcos #US #APEC #APECSummit #Agila #OpinYon #WeTakeAStand