Speed up my WiFi

As I write this column, I have this scary thought at the back of my mind if my email will work, and this precious piece of thought will reach my editor – pronto! Why? Perhaps, my WiFi won’t work again. Maybe, our only two telco operators are sleeping on the job – and goodbye transmission!

It is of no comfort to me that facts in the global telecommunication industry say that the Philippines is at the tail end of this super important technology. Johnny-come-late Vietnam is now even ahead of us. Our telecom towers are only ten percent of their towers. And they have streamlined their bureaucracy so that new telco players are not bogged down by many clearances. That explains our position in the race for telco advancement – with this descriptive letdown: We are kulelat.

I wish I wouldn’t be bothered by the state of affairs of the Philippine telecommunication industry. I wish Smart and Globe would simply do something natural and logical – which means improve their service, expand their infrastructure, so those of us who have embraced this new technology of transmitting our pieces of writing will simply focus on what we do best.

Anyway, the government is on the right track when it has opted to bring in a third telco player – and bring a healthy competition to the duopoly of Smart and Globe. Since the President was dead serious about a third industry player, the two regulatory agencies mandated to get the job done began the first determined steps to make our dream a reality.

Here comes the tandem of Department of Information and Communication Technology (DICT) and the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) laying the groundwork for this much awaited “third industry player.”

The first step is to invite interested parties – and then public bidding will be conducted to get the best from the applicants.

So, DICT acting Secretary Eliseo Rio Jr. of DICT and Gamaliel Cordoba of NTC issued the terms of reference or bidding parameters – which a year ago were meticulously drafted with the help of local and international experts, multiple government agencies and the third telco aspirants themselves.

So, it was only a matter of time, we thought. 

But then one interested party in the bidding questioned the 10-percent performance security bond required by DICT and NTC, since it required a million pesos! The Regulator is precisely making sure that the third player had enough financial wherewithal to make needed investment and to really put up the requisite facilities for an honest-to-goodness telco. It must have the capacity to give Smart and Globe a run for their money.

Secretary Rio said: “We wanted to attract a strong contender.”

We agree with Secretary Rio that choosing a third telco player was no small matter. The bar must be set high, the standards must be global, because these would be an reassuring fact to all online users like you and me.

 It’s good that the DICT and NTC chiefs are standing their ground – and so the bidding will proceed as expected on November 7, despite the protestations of a thinly capitalized wannabe. 

The rest of the bidding participants have no problem with the selection process. Each one of these would-be telco players had already bought the bid documents worth P1 million. That’s how the cookie crumbles, folks. If you don’t have the money, you have no business playing in the big stakes game.

Well, as it stands as I write, aside from NOW Telecom, the bid participants are: Dennis Uy’s Udenna Corp., TierOne Communications International Inc. in partnership with Luis  “Chavit” Singson’s LCS Group of Companies, Philippine Telegraph and Telephone Corp., China Telecom, Mobiltel Holding GmbH, Converge ICT and KT Corp., and a local company who chose to be anonymous in the meantime. 

President Duterte who introduced the idea of a third telco prayer, despite the protests of one interested party, tersely told the telecom regulators: “Just do what’s right.” Only recently the court did not grant NOW Telecom’s petition for a temporary restraining order (TRO).

It looks like it’s really a go for the third industry player to bring competition to the existing duopoly of Smart and Globe. “The more the merrier” is the operative policy in this country of slow Internet and now-you-have-it-now-you-don’t WiFi.

In a matter of months, my column will reach my editor without a glitch. In a matter of months our country of intellectuals and bright leaders can now confidently tell our telcom players: Speed Up my WiFi – and indeed the velocity should be amazing as it is assuring! 

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Although I am not voting in the congressional election in Quezon City, I am rooting for Rep. Bernadette “BH” Herrera-Dy, first nominee of incumbent party-list Bagong Henerasyon. I am encouraging voters to vote for candidates advocating gender equality, anti-sexual harassment, and non-violent positive discipline of children, among others. 

Bagong Henerasyon Party-list brings hope to the marginalized sectors of society especially the children and youth (“new generation”).

Rep. BH, a resident of Quezon City,  has so far authored 137 house measures and co-authored 193. Most notable bills she authored in this 17th Congress are the New Anti-Hazing Law, Anti-Discrimination Act (SOGIE Act), Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act (Free College Education Law), Expanded Maternity Leave Act, Expanded Anti-Sexual Harassment Act, Non-violent and Positive Discipline of Children Act, Universal Health Care Act, and Anti-Child Marriage Act.

She is  currently a House Assistant Majority Leader and Chair of the House Committee on Women and Gender Equality.

Email: [email protected]