"We just finished our study and the interesting thing is that it's cheaper to just remain where we are," CICT chairman Ramon Sales disclosed in an interview Computerworld Philippines.

Earlier this year, after assuming office at CICT, Sales announced that one of his plans is to roll out voice over Internet protocol or VOIP across government. VOIP will cut yearly communications costs by as much as 30 percent, according to the Department of Budget and Management.

The commission was looking to incur savings from VOIP use, which it then plans to pump into improving broadband access in government in order to easily deploy Web-based applications.

But a study conducted by the commission shows that migrating to VOIP would be expensive in the next five years.

Sales said VOIP will likely remain expensive in the next five years but could become cheaper afterwards, saying, "The present belief is that VOIP is cheaper because of communication systems like Skype. But the difference is in domestic pricing."