INSTITUTIONALIZE BETTER INTERNET
Recently, President Duterte berated the two leading telcos (PLDT-Smart and Globe) due to “less than ideal” level service. In his July State of the Nation Address (SONA), he said that he would “expropriate” the telecommunication services from these telcos if they do not improve their service by December 2020.
He again blamed the telcos for their “very poor” service last week. In his speech, the President said it “pisses him off to no end” by the Internet service in the country and asked telecommunications firms to “do you do a better job,” clearly placing the blame for the state of our internet on the telco providers themselves. “If only I can address this problem in just one word, this problem has long been over,” he added.
But who really is at fault for the current state of our telco service?
For decades, the slow bureaucratic process of local government units (LGUs) has held the country’s internet hostage, leaving telcos unable to build the necessary cell towers needed to improve service. It was recently reported that before the construction of a single cell tower can commence, it will take 4-6 months to complete the laundry list permits, certificates, clearances, resolutions, and approvals from both the national and local levels.
Despite the red tape, a study conducted by OpenSignal found that the Philippines was among the country’s making the most improvement in mobile video performance in the last year. Just imagine how much better our internet service could have been all these years if telcos were only allowed to build the cell sites they were requesting permission to build?
In OpenSignal’s tenth anniversary report published in September of this year, the independent research organization analyzed different internet and telecommunications services providers around the world, highlighting global top performers as well as rising stars in the sector. Here, Globe Telecoms was singled out as having one of the most improved video experiences in the world. Similarly, the 4G availability of Smart in the Philippines was touted to be one of the most improved worldwide.
Due to growing clamor for better internet in the country, the government has finally ordered LGUs and other government agencies to fast-track the release of these pending permits. Hopefully, this removal of this red tape is a permanent change. Due to the pandemic, Filipinos’ demand for internet services will only grow. This means that Telcos must also continuously build cell sites to upgrade their network and meet demand.
BK3 believes that the first action government must take it to institutionalize the fast processing of permits necessary for the expansion of our internet services. This fast-tracking of permits cannot only be a one-time publicity stunt because the President mentioned it in his speech. Both local and national government must create an environment that enables Telcos to upgrade their networks to meet our growing demand for reliable internet services.
Second, given the increasing importance of the internet due to the pandemic, BK3 also appeals to the government to build digital infrastructure to bring internet services to all areas of the Philippines. In doing so, we can ensure that Filipinos across the country can work and study from home.