Crossing the Digital Divide

How do we get the Filipino people up to speed on technology or more than that – above the DIGITAL DIVIDE? The Digital Divide has been the topic of many telecom leaders. It is the term most industry people relate to the use of telecoms and computer-related equipment per country or region. With that as the initiative, there are hurdles: 1) getting people physical access and 2) making access affordable – use is the result…

I have seen many new and renewed communications tools that the Philippine business community has been adopting and rejecting. With that I mean the capital to fund known working applications to get the Philippines above the Digital Divide. By no means is it a good or bad thing, it is just how it works. Some forward-thinking organizations need to put in the cash to get it in the Philippines. For example, to get Internet access at an affordable rate takes a lot of investment. In simple terms, there are four basic components for lowering the cost of Philippine Internet connectivity: 1) the infrastructure/connection outside the Philippines; most call it the gateway; 2) the local access; 3) the hosting facilities; and 4) the physical computers/terminals.

Just because it works in some other country, it doesn’t automatically mean it will be highly accepted here in the Philippines or in Asia. Be it the appropriate approach of how the product was designed or who was it designed for, the speed of the technology or the education factor. These are just some of the reasons why technology "may be" pushed away in certain areas.

I will be discussing two Philippine companies that have approached this market and have been innovative or have just taken an idea and used its current infrastructure and made it widely distributed.

One of these companies is Qnet Communications Inc. (www.qnet.com.ph). Its network of public access kiosks has made it accessible to all markets in the Philippines and in Hong Kong. The units are computer terminals with a software program that is called Qware. Qware was programmed with the "Unconnected Filipino" in mind. So everything was created and tested with that as the base level of use. One of its initial targets is the OFW market, which has the profile of being away from home for two to three years. At present, OFWs mainly communicate via long-distance phone calls. That makes one of Qnet’s features a great communication tool – the "Video Chat" which lets you see the person you are talking to in a real-time mode. Believe me, for a person who has been away from home, it makes a difference to see his or her loved ones than just talking to them.

The second company is PLDT. It has a product called the Vibe. It’s an easy-to-use prepaid Internet access card. The idea has been tried by many but the distribution has always been the roadblock. With the FonKard as widely distributed as it is today, it is definitely the route that the Vibe may be heading to. It has ease of use (with approximately 10 steps for most systems), and the setup is simple, especially with no extra installation the client has to add to his computer. There is an option of prepaid or postpaid directly linked to your existing bill. And yes, of course, there are security features so unwanted users cannot gain access. Plus, there is online usage checking via an online tool on www.pldtvibe.com.

These are just two daring companies that have gained ground on getting everyday people online and using the wide range of information on the Internet.

Whatever the opinions may be on how to use or how to control the content out there, one thing is for certain – information is on the Net and there is an enormous amount of good info out there. With the Internet as the only means of leveling information for everyone in the world, whoever wants to get access to the information has the means. With information comes knowledge and the power of knowledge – let’s get on board and not let this generation miss out.

Semper Fi!

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(The writer is the managing director of AJOnet Holdings Inc. For comments or suggestions, e-mail him at [email protected].)