Telco opportunities arise from COVID-19 challenges

MANILA, Philippines — Opportunities abound for telecommunication providers in the coming weeks as Metro Manila grapples with containing the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Metro Manila.

With Metro Manila under a month-long community quarantine, residents, students, and employees are encouraged to stay and even work at home.

“Indeed there is a good opportunity for telcos in the midst of the COVID-19 challenges,” Information and Communications Technology Undersecretary Eliseo Rio told The STAR.

“The community quarantine clearly shows that with ICT solutions, physical or face-to-face contact is not necessary in many transactions and businesses, keeping communities safe, spend less time and money, and experience convenience. So after this crisis, DICT will increase the momentum gained in using ICT solutions in solving most of our problems,” he said.

PLDT chairman and CEO Manuel V. Pangilinan said the higher demand for work from home arrangements and teleconferencing should make up for any negative impact which the COVID-19 outbreak and the crackdown on Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) may bring to the company.

“To the extent that we could get affected to a modest degree because of let’s say the POGO, it’s sort of being compensated for by the fact that there are now people who are working at home, and in terms of the enterprise side teleconferencing is now hot again and has been adopted,” Pangilinan said.

“We are slightly ahead in terms of revenues if you weigh the negatives and the positives,” he said.

The question, however, is can the country’s telcos keep up with the expected increase in demand.

Rio said the telcos have already committed that they would increase speed and connectivity for the duration of the crisis and beyond.

PLDT-Smart public affairs head Ramon Isberto said the company is taking steps to address the need of customers and the public for enhanced internet services during the COVID-19 outbreak.

“Many companies are putting their employees in work-from-home arrangements. And many students are doing class work at home. Moreover, with more people staying at home, there is greater demand for online video entertainment,” Isberto said.

Isberto assured that PLDT’s fiber network has more than sufficient capacity.

“To meet the expected greater need for data of PLDT Home customers, we shall provide a speed boost for fiber customers in Greater Manila – Metro Manila, Rizal, Bulacan, Laguna and Cavite – so that the minimum speed will be 25 Mbps.

Once technical preparations are completed this week, he said that should be enough to serve the needs of several simultaneous users in the household.

“As for our fixed and mobile networks, our focus is on ensuring availability of service and delivering the needed capacity despite the difficulties posed to the COVID outbreak. We are taking extraordinary measures to ensure network availability,” Isberto said.

Meanwhile, Globe SVP for corporate communications Yoly Crisanto said the Ayala-led telco has been investing heavily on its network to increase capacity to better serve its customers.

“The most important thing now is to contain and manage the spread of the virus. Telecommuting and work from home allows people to do their jobs, but this is true for certain businesses only and not for all,” she said.

“It is our hope that as the nation emerges from this experience, there will be greater social acceptability of technology and ICT. We remain hopeful that relationships with the government especially the LGUs and the HOAs will be strengthened to hasten the issuance of permits so that we can build more ICT infrastructure like cell sites and roll out more fiber to homes,” Crisanto said.