From the country that was second just to Japan to one that is fast approaching second to the last in ASEAN, almost summarize our journey over the last 50 years.The world is now
discussing the Fourth Industrial Transformation and we can see how technology is quick altering the lives of individuals everywhere. It is excellent and bad.Good because it provides us a chance to leapfrog advancement phases by adopting cutting edge technology. Bad due to the fact that our mindsets are still basically stuck in an older era.There is a recent study sponsored by Google and the Asia Foundation and the conclusions are unpleasant, even if not brand-new to me.Internet and its allowing broadband innovations are governed in our nation by a law that was promulgated in 1931.
A related law was passed in 1995 when FVR opened up the telecoms market from the PLDT monopoly.But the 1995 law is also no longer sufficient to regulate the brave brand-new world of digital innovation. Our laws must keep up with technological advancements or we will miss the advantages. Congress is costing us big money, but is sleeping on its job. We must get our money’s worth. Passing a complimentary WiFi law is hardly staying up to date with technology.Indeed, every time I complain about something to the NTC
, the regulator of the market, I am informed that their hands are tied. They are simply carrying out the requireds offered by our out-of-date laws.Essentially, I am always informed that broadband is considered a
value included service( VAS)and is not controlled like plain ol’ telephone service. They can just keep track of the speed the telcos offer, let consumers know however can’t impose requirements that must be met.But, as the research study
points out, “emerging innovations have removed outdated and ineffective standard technologies, and have actually brought in a more varied set of service companies.” As the world enters what has been called as the 4th Industrial Revolution, web connection will
be a more vital development enabler, particularly for establishing nations. When it comes to the Philippines, the difficulties of bad gain access to, bad quality, and high expense of internet connectivity are well-documented.”We grumble about the telco duopoly, but no one in the Senate nor in your house is about to do something that will resolve the problem. We are concentrated on the third telco to provide the duopoly some competition. But unless our laws are updated, the new entrant might wind up like the two incumbent players.The Philippine policy environment, the
paper explains, is not only outdated, but likewise restrictive with regard to emerging web technologies.Our fundamental problem, the paper concludes, is that our “general policy framework was developed and continues to be based primarily on analog-era cellular and landline innovation instead of digital technology.”As a result, government firms, regulators, and service suppliers interested in releasing brand-new digital technologies need to operate in an analog-era policy environment. “The NTC manages on the basis of telco-centric classification of service companies. Here are some problems.Only a telephone company with a congressional franchise and NTC provisional authority/CPCN, is enabled to
construct and operate a network. By law, a”network”is specified based on connections that will accommodate telecommunications.These regulatory constraints, the paper explained, prevent non-telcos, such as ISPs and VAS service providers from using emerging and alternative internet innovations, to operate a data-only network and provide connection where the large telcos will not go.”Where does a telecom network end and the last mile network, where ISPs link completion users, start? The regulatory meanings remain unclear due to outdated policy.”We need reforms to enable brand-new services and/or
companies to release emerging innovations which can dramatically enhance gain access to, quality, and expense of Philippine web service. These include the reclassification of information services to differentiate and unshackle them from fundamental telecommunications … “There is more … why should someone who simply desires to provide broadband services be needed to set up landlines for entry into the telecommunications and broadband markets? In an age where landline growth is flat or decreasing, it does not make economic sense to apply those requirements on new entrants, particularly those who wish to concentrate on broadband services.Why would one need a telecoms franchise to be allowed to gain access to satellites to provide broadband connectivity?A proposal to redefine public utility to leave out telecoms is moving too slowly in Congress. Such legislation would free the telecoms sector from constitutional ownership constraints and get the big international gamers to purchase modernizing our telecoms infrastructure.We likewise require to reform spectrum management that will, among others, allow NTC to investigate spectrum usage. NTC needs to have the ability to recall or redistribute underutilized spectrum to various kinds of company who can use emerging internet
technologies.Updating our laws is urgently required if we are to catch up.Vietnam, with a lower GDP per capita( $2,343 vs the Philippines at$2,989)
, has 170 percent more fiber connections than the 2 dominant Philippine operators have of all kinds of fixed broadband subscribers combined.Internet speed in the Philippines is reported as amongst the slowest worldwide. Akamai Technologies’State of the Internet report has been ranking the Philippines’ fixed broadband speed as the
slowest in Asia Pacific since the fourth quarter of 2016. OpenSignal’s Global State of Mobile Networks positioned the nation’s 3G/4G speeds at second slowest on the planet in February 2017. A year later, its State of LTE ranked the nation’s 4G/LTE(Long Term Evolution)speed as fourth slowest
out of 88 nations measured.OpenSignal’s State of Mobile Video report also recorded the
nation’s mobile video experience as the poorest globally.We need to get breaking on reforming the policy and regulative environment. Otherwise, we will be left even more behind.Boo Chanco’s e-mail address is bchanco@gmail.com!.?.!. Follow him on Twitter @boochanco
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