THE whole world is now undergoing the so-called Fourth Industrial Revolution, with data being the new gold. And while the rest of the world has long been thriving in mining this new commodity, the Philippines is still in the search for tools to capitalize on this product, albeit at a much faster pace.
From being labeled just a privilege, Internet access is now considered a human right—fitting for a world that is migrating from the analog space to the digital arena—as it plays a big role in enabling people to communicate, all while helping bridge the digital divide.
It’s such a basic right that the United Nations included it on its list of Sustainable Development Goals, stressing that access to information and communications technology (ICT) should be “universal and affordable” in least-developed countries like the Philippines.
Internet connectivity is proven to have helped improve the lives of people in other countries. Aside from basic communications, the Internet provides people the linkage to services that may be absent in their area.
Take financial technology, for example. According to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, companies have been helping fill the gaps in the local banking industry by bringing traditional banking services to far-flung areas via the Internet.
It’s necessity was further made stark when the Central Bank decided to launch a policy on developing financial technology services a few years back. It even went out of its way to proclaim that digital banks will play a key role in achieving a more financially inclusive Philippines.
Sadly, the country is still far from realizing its goal of providing access to the Internet for all, and at a very affordable price.
In terms of access, roughly 41.2 million Filipinos are unconnected, which deprives them of the benefits of Internet connectivity, according to the International Telecommunications Union’s State of the Internet Report published in September 2018. The country ranked 139th out of 196 countries in terms of access.
Affordability
AFFORDABILITY is another concern. In the Philippines, the average price of postpaid broadband service is at 7.1 percent of the average monthly income, above the 5-percent affordability rate set by the specialized agency of the United Nations for ICT development.
Speed is, likewise, a pressing issue, as the Philippines ranked 85th out of 88 countries surveyed in the world in terms of Internet speed, posting an average 4G speed of 9.49 Mbps, far below the global average of 16.9 Mbps.
But, with the right people, mindset and funding, the country is now inching a bit closer to reaching its target.
Eliseo M. Rio Jr., the acting secretary of the ICT department, which is the main policy-making and implementing body of the Philippine government for the development of the industry, admitted that his agency is still ranked as “no good” for now.
He cited Chinese businessman Jack Ma’s visit last year, when he criticized the quality of Internet in the Philippines, calling it “not good.”
“In a way, that is a reflection of my department. Unless my department can change that perception, which is shared by the citizens of this country, then my department, as of now, is no good,” Rio said. “Our infrastructure is not catching up, and that is the biggest challenge that we have.”
However, for the 74-year-old military man who graduated with an electronics and communications engineering degree, his agency can transform that perception in the next two years.
To do this, the ICT department is implementing several initiatives that mark the first time that the government will spend to develop a sector, which has been playing catch-up with its neighbors for almost a decade now.
Under the program touted as the National Broadband Plan, Rio’s department will be implementing five initiatives that are geared toward the development of vital infrastructure, which will help the Philippines cope with the demands of the digital age.
These are the Luzon Bypass Infrastructure; the backbone from National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) and National Transmission Corp. (Transco); the National Broadband Network; the Free Wi-Fi program; and the third telco inititative.
The Luzon Bypass Infrastructure, being constructed by the Bases Conversion and Development Authority in partnership with Facebook, will be a 250-kilometer cable network corridor that will provide a terrestrial bypass route for international submarine cable owners.
It will have a capacity of 2 terabits per second, which is almost equal to the combined capacity of incumbents Globe Telecom Inc. and PLDT Inc.
“This can help us provide fast and very inexpensive Internet connectivity, as we will receive 2 terabits per second of capacity in exchange for allowing their infrastructure to pass through Central Luzon,” Rio explained.
The backbone from the power companies, on the other hand, was secured sometime in June, when the two companies signed a tripartite agreement with Rio’s office for the use and access in certain spare fiber-optic cores, vacant lots, tower spaces and related facilities.
Combined, the two energy companies’ dark fiber facilities span 6,154 kilometers across Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao.
“Using the backbone we can bring the cost of data coming from Los Angeles or Hong Kong down to even as far as Mindanao,” Rio said.
This will complement the National Broadband Network, which will include the development and deployment of a mixture of several Internet connectivity technologies, such as fixed line and mobile data, among others, all over the Philippines—including missionary areas.
The Free Wi-Fi program, on the other hand, involves the deployment of Wi-Fi connectivity in public spaces—such as schools, government offices, parks, hospitals—and other locations all over the Philippines to help connect Filipinos to the Internet.
“We have the point-of-presence to the last-mile initiative, which will primarily benefit the end users. We are going to connect all the offices of the government to the National Broadband Network, which will give them very fast Internet connectivity so that basic government services can be opened to our citizens,” Rio explained.
Last, the third telco initiative aims to award the spot for a new telco to spur competition in the market to lower prices and improve services.
In selecting the third telco, the government veered away from the traditional auction model, and instead adopted a “beauty contest” that essentially takes into account the highest level of commitments on three aspects: speed, coverage and financial capability.
Each contender will get points for each category, based on thresholds and minimums.
Rio said his office is confident of announcing the new major player by the end of November, ahead of its revised target of December. Already, there are nine firms that are preparing to submit their offers to the government for the said spot.
However, one bidder—a sore one, as one newspaper called it—decided to sue the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) before a Manila court, alleging that the whole process is a money-making scheme due to the financial provisions spelled out in the terms of reference.
The local court, however, denied the prayer for a stay order. Despite this, Now Corp. is not budging, claiming that it will continue with its suit against the regulator, as the P700-million participation security, the P14-billion to P24-billion performance security, and the P10-million nonrefundable appeal fee are allegedly onerous.
But for Rio, this roadblock is a manageable pothole. He is still sticking with his November target of announcing the third telco.
Some of the potential bidders have given their two cents in the case, and they are one in saying that the terms of reference for the selection process is palatable to their taste.
“We’re attracting the world in our selection process, unfortunately some would lie to muddle with it. But no party is siding with them,” Rio said. “Even with all of these challenges that we are facing, we will move forward because we are now in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.”
Rio added that all the five components of the National Broadband Plan will be in place starting next year, and are part of the so-called Vision 2020 of the ICT department for the industry.
“All of these will be in place beginning 2019, such that by 2020, our people can start feeling the big improvement in our Internet connectivity,” he said.
Rio quipped that by that time, he will invite Jack Ma back to the Philippines, for him to rate the state of the Internet in the country one more time.
“Maybe our rating from no good will be very good,” he said. “But we must be rated by our own citizens, because no matter what rating we get abroad, if they do not feel the Internet benefits in their basic lives, then my department will have failed.”
Image credits: Nonoy Lacza