INEQUALITIES have existed in different facets of life through the ages. Humans, in fact, are divided into different economic groups: The poor, the middle class and the rich, and all the other subgroups in the spectrum.
But one thing is certain, at least for the United Nations—the Internet is the greatest equalizer in the world today. Between free access to data and various paid services, the Internet allows anyone to “seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds instantaneously and inexpensively across national borders.”
The Internet allows anyone—be he a poor man without a proper shelter or a wealthy socialite who goes dancing every night—to gain almost equal access to almost everything.
However, despite the Internet’s power of inclusion, there exists a so-called digital divide that has become more pronounced than ever, as the world turns to the Internet to find solace, social interaction and productivity amid the global health crisis caused by the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) outbreak.
The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad) explained in a report that the pandemic is “exposing the digital gap between countries and societies,” especially between and within least developed countries.
Inequalities, the report said, are magnified by the fact that the need for Internet access, deemed a basic human right, is more pronounced than ever. This need becomes more stark because much work is now done through digital means and human interaction has become more digital than ever. Moreover, entertainment through video streaming apps and social sites is now becoming more popular.
Emerging economies such as the Philippines are a good example of a country with a digital chasm at the heart of the nation. In far-flung areas, for instance, Internet access is very limited to almost zero.
In the Philippines, Internet access, according to data from We Are Social Inc., is only limited to “one-third” of the population. These leaves two-thirds of the population bereft of the benefits of the Internet, especially in three key areas: education, information and communications, and finance.
Silver lining
There is a silver lining in this, though. The government and the private sector are working toward bridging this gap by spending billions of dollars to provide quality access to the Internet.
Undersecretary Eliseo M. Rio Jr. of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) said his group is deploying various technologies to unserved areas to provide access to the people who live there.
“The DICT has taken great strides in bridging the digital divide. This is shown in rolling out this year 6,000 very small aperture terminals or VSATs in underserved and unserved areas of the Philippines, connecting our people there to the Internet through the Free Wi-Fi Program. This is the biggest rollout of VSATs in our history,” he said.
Likewise, the government has made it easier for investors to come into the market, thereby allowing more players to compete.
“We have attracted common tower providers and passive telecommunication infrastructure providers that will roll out cell sites and fiber-optic cables to areas not reached by our commercial telcos, and lease these to them,” he said.
So far, over a dozen common tower providers are working together to set up about 50,000 towers in the next five years.
The DICT is also leading other initiatives such as the construction Luzon Bypass Infrastructure; the use of the dark fiber backbone from National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) and National Transmission Corp. (Transco); the implementation of the National Broadband Network; and the Third Telco Initiative.
Covid-19 crisis predated
The private sector is spending almost P200 billion this year to beef up their networks, which includes extending access to other parts of the country.
“Our initiatives to bridge the digital divide of course predated the Covid-19 crisis. Their impact just became more manifest during this health emergency. Our most significant initiative has been our continuing efforts to increase the capacity of our fixed and mobile networks and bring their reach to more and more parts of the country,” PLDT Inc. spokesperson Ramon R. Isberto said, citing the group’s expanded network capacity of home broadband, 4G base stations, as well as its extensive fiber-optic cable network.
He added that Smart’s services now “reach more people in more areas of the country.”
“We’ve noted that as we expanded the reach of our mobile data networks, more and more customers have upgraded their mobile devices and the majority of them are now using smartphones with a growing number shifting to LTE devices. Over the next few years, we expect that shift to continue so that mobile data services will be almost universally available to Filipinos,” Isberto said.
For her part, Globe Telecom Inc. spokesperson Yolanda C. Crisanto said her group’s contribution to bridging the digital chasm is marked by Globe’s huge capital investments in the network’s capacity and capability.
“Foremost are the multibillion-peso investments being done by Globe every year to expand its network and provide the connectivity requirements that its customers need,” she said.
Crisanto said her group has also made the price of Globe’s services more affordable. She cited as well their partnering with the Department of Education to “provide Internet connectivity, content, and promoting science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education specifically in public schools.”
Digital services
As the Covid-19 pandemic forces the Philippines to restrict people’s movements, data usage in both telcos spiked in recent weeks. Aside from entertainment and productivity, people are using the Internet to bring them closer to the services they urgently need.
For instance, online marketplaces Lazada and Shopee, as well as Facebook Marketplace, have become the new grocery shopping venue for many people. Paying for these is also done digitally through financial technology providers GCash, PayMaya, and other digital banks.
Curb-side and food deliveries are also a hit among those afraid to go out and contract the virus.
And some are even using online video conferencing apps to “visit” their detained family members.
“There is no turning back. The Covid-19 pandemic pushed the digital transformation of countries, like the Philippines, at a pace and scale that nobody had ever imagined. We have seen how, when the physical world is no longer the default, the digital is not only an alternative but can create the new norm,” Better Broadband Alliance convenor Mary Grace Mirandilla-Santos asserted.
Online-first policy
Santos noted that the Internet allowed governments, businesses, schools and homes to operate and function. But without further hastening the implementation of initiatives to boost access would only hurt those who have already been denied of the benefits of the Web.
“To continue to ignore the need to provide digital connectivity to the most vulnerable sectors of the population after the pandemic would be to deny them not only of a resource but of a lifeline,” she said.
She urged the government to adopt an “online-first policy” to normalize the use of the Internet for basic and critical services.
“Moving forward, the Better Broadband Alliance hopes to have the same digital solutions available to all Filipinos. The Better Broadband Alliance seeks to advocate the need to proactively push for an “online first” policy in government, where digitally enabled transactions would be the default and face-to-face engagements would be the exemption,” she said.
Aside from transparency, this renders the services more efficient and affordable.
“But more important, this entails a robust digital infrastructure that will serve not only the profitable urban areas, but those long considered to be the periphery. In order to achieve this, we need to allow a more diverse set of service providers, alternative Internet technologies, and different business models to thrive,” she said.
Wealth of solutions
Santos’s group—with nongovernment organizations and chambers of commerce—has offered the government some solutions to further democratize access to the Internet amid the global health crisis.
To recall, the International Telecommunications Union’s (ITU) Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development recently adopted an agenda that outlines key policies and strategies to promote “faster and better recovery” through the Internet.
It identified the “three pillars of resilient connectivity, affordable access, and safe use of online services for informed and educated societies, to mitigate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and ease the immediate adverse impacts for economies and societies.”
With this, the Better Broadband Alliance advised the Interagency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases and the ICT department to request all telcos to lift the data cap on mobile plans and encourage upstream service providers to create temporary bandwidth increase packages.
The alliance also sought unhampered facilitation of maintenance, repair and after-sales services, as network reliability is critical for digital services.
It suggested the deployment of creative solutions to boost the coverage of networks such as cell sites on wheels, especially within critical facilities such as hospitals, isolation areas, and local government offices.
Aside from this, the government, according to the group, should fast-track the deployment of free Wi-Fi in essential institutions; create a database and network map for contingencies; beef up cybersecurity initiatives; and relax rules and processes.
“For the longer term, we believe that a widespread and robust digital infrastructure is the key to our economic recovery and future security, which can only be achieved if we start creating that digital framework today,” Santos said.
Image credits: Nonie Reyes