THE United States Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) granted Filipino company Responsible Internet Sustainability Effort Inc. (RISE) funding for a feasibility study to improve internet quality in the Philippines.

As part of the sideline activities of the 6th Indo-Pacific Business Forum on Tuesday, USTDA Director Enoh Ebong made the announcement as part of their country's commitment to promote trade, investment and economic cooperation with the Philippines.

"USTDA partners with companies like RISE to improve access to affordable and reliable internet connectivity for underserved communities in the Indo-Pacific. Planning the deployment of innovative technology is part of our strategy to promote inclusive economic growth," said Ebong.Through the grant, California-based Connectivity Capital LLC will conduct the study, which will help RISE's GetaFIX unit in expanding carrier-neutral internet infrastructure. This will enhance the user experience and boost connectivity among the Philippines' internet service providers.GetaFIX is an internet exchange company in the Philippines that operates on standard pricing models within multiple data centers in Luzon, allowing for easy interconnection, and available at major data centers located in Manila, Cebu, Hong Kong and Singapore.The expansion will reduce the distance data needs to travel to reach users, thereby improving both speed and reliability.

The project is also seen to grow the demand for new data centers, which will house internet exchange infrastructure and, in turn, will increase business opportunities for US companies to partner with the Philippines on its digital transition.

Rhett Jones, founder and CEO of RISE and founder of GetaFIX, acknowledged the grant and said that this will make their company equipped to make a bigger impact.

"This grant from USTDA will support efforts to bring affordable connectivity to remote communities, enabling access to the digital economy for every Filipino," said US Ambassador to the Philippines MaryKay Carlson.