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BALANGA, Bataan: After a long wait, this fast-growing
town which prides itself as the first fully energized locality down
to the barangays will soon emerge as the first fully wired area in
the Philippines.
This was disclosed by Nextream
President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ty Javellana, whose firm
along with the Peninsula Electric Cooperative (Penelco) and
Canadian-based manufacturing firm Corinex pilot tested broadband
over power lines, or simply called BOPL technology, using electric
cables to be connected to the Internet within a 15-kilometer radius.
Among Nextream’s other services
aside from Internet connectivity will be to provide high-end
technologies such as voice over IP and video streaming similar to
Cable TV using BPL and wireless networking.
“With the successful pilot
testing in Bataan proving the capability of BPL technology, Nextream
has generated serious interest from very prominent Filipinos about
investing in the Philippine operations. I am confident that my
growing technical team can design, implement, and maintain a BPL
network in the Philippines and other foreign locations,” Javellana
declared.
Among those that were initially
trained include the Misamis Oriental I Electric Cooperative, Inc.;
Cagayan II Electric Cooperative, Inc. Batangas I Electric
Cooperative, Inc.; Central Pangasinan Electric Cooperative, Inc.;
Tarlac II Electric Cooperative, Inc.; Antique Electric Cooperative,
Inc.; Bohol I Electric Cooperatives, Inc.; Negros Occidental
Electric Cooperative, Inc.; and Oriental Mindoro Electric
Cooperatives, Inc.
Javellana said that the intensive
training conducted in Bataan for seven days involved basic BPL
network design and field implementation. There were classroom
discussions and field demonstrations, which enabled the participants
to gain proper knowledge on the product.
“Slowly, our efforts to fully
market the BPL in the countryside are gaining grounds. Initially, we
enlisted 10 coops in the BPL training and many others have expressed
interest to be trained in the coming months,” Javellana said.
The next BPL training will be
conducted in Cagayan to be hosted by the Cagayan Electric
Cooperative.
He disclosed that Nextream has 28
active joint venture agreements with electric cooperatives in the
Philippines and another 12 new cooperatives from the Visayas and
Mindanao are set to sign up with the outfit.
“Ihe successful BPL pilot
testing in Bataan has caught fire among BPL users worldwide and it
is proof positive what Filipino talent and ingenuity can do with
21st-century technology,” Javellana said.
 --Francis
Earl A. Cueto
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