THE Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP), and the National Transmission Corp. (TransCo) signed on Friday a tripartite deal to use spare dark fiber optic cables to speed up the implementation of the government’s National Broadband Plan (NBP).

The move settles the protracted conflict between NGCP and TransCo over those cables’ ownership, and bolsters the government’s efforts to offer higher-speed internet service to Filipinos.