Free WiFi nationwide… really?

DOST is planning to roll out its free public WiFi Internet access project across the Philippines beginning this July. It is a good concept, but don’t get your hopes up just yet. Note this is free and is a government project.

If we can’t get decent broadband service that we pay for from private providers, how can a free government service be the answer to our prayers? Have you ever been to a government hospital providing free medical services? How will DOST’s free WiFi service be any different?

But I have to credit DOST Sec. Mario Montejo for following through the project. Way back in September 2011, the DOST Secretary gave a concept paper to P-Noy that sounded like he was reviving the ZTE broadband project of the Arroyo administration. A ruckus was raised and the Secretary talked to me and two economists, national scientist Dr. Raul Fabella and UP School of Economics Prof Dr. Noel de Dios.

Sec. Montejo explained that he wanted to use existing government assets like the unused dark fiber of the national power grid, MRT and LRT transmission lines and TELOF microwave facilities to set up a broadband backbone for government use. He wants government to acquire the necessary equipment to light up those fibers and create another backbone to serve government.

Sec. Montejo pointed out the enormous amount of money being paid by government to the private telcos for services that this alternative system could provide. He also justified the government backbone as a way of making sure the private telcos do not gain even near monopoly powers. Government, he said, must exercise its function and duty to regulate the telcos by providing competition for the sake of the consumers as well.

That was before the Gokongweis sold Sun Cellular to PLDT/Smart and effectively created a duopoly with Globe. I can understand the idea of having government provide competition to keep private sector industry honest. We did this with Petron during my stint with the Ministry of Energy.

But I am also old enough to remember the old Government Telephone System where you have to dial 07 on your PLDT phone to reach a number in GTS and all you get is a busy signal. That was a system more hopeless than PLDT’s during the despised Cojuangco era in the telco monopoly.

That explains my skepticism about this free nationwide WiFi service courtesy of DOST. Then again, if DOST gets this right, P-Noy may yet end up becoming a darling of social media and redeem himself from the ignominy of Mamasapano.

Sec. Montejo’s vision of free WiFi for all Filipinos is ambitious as the P1.408 billion budget he has for it as authorized in the 2015 General Appropriations Act (GAA). Sec. Montejo hopes to provide free WiFi internet access in select public spaces in the country to include:

1. Public plazas and parks 2. Public primary and secondary central schools 3. Public libraries 4. Rural health units and government hospitals 5. State universities and colleges 6. Train stations of the MRT and LRT systems 7. Airports and seaports 8. City and Municipal Halls 9. National government offices

According to DOST, once fully deployed, the project will serve 105,000 concurrent users with an average speed of 256 kbps each. It will be subjected to data volume based Fair Usage Policy to promote an equitable distribution of the public service. Oh well… it is free, so don’t expect speed.

Whatever quality of service this DOST service will end up providing, I say Sec. Montejo deserves an A for effort and vision. This is a more difficult project to carry out than extending LRT 2 by four kilometers in a straight line with no right of way problem that the unimaginative and pretty useless DOTC Sec Jun Abaya can’t deliver. No wonder the “C” IN DOTC was given by P-Noy to DOST’s Sec. Montejo.

This Free WiFi for all project may flop like that monorail experiment of DOST at the UP Diliman campus. But it is the first step towards eventually having such a service that eventually will be fast, reliable and free.

Connectivity is now as essential to life as power and water but the only excuse I can think of why it should be available and free is that it facilitates the exercise of our democratic rights. Internet connectivity in this age of social media supports free speech and forces transparency in government. Social media is the new Plaza Miranda, the new Hyde Park that empowers citizens as it makes participation in governance easy.

Social media, specially now that the use of smart phones is growing fast, brings people together quickly so as to influence government decision making in real time. It lowers the cost of communication as well as making access to information easier. This is what democracy is all about.

I googled for background information on how engaged we are in social media and I came across an analysis by GSMA Intelligence. Here is the link: https://gsmaintelligence.com/research/?file=141201-philippines.pdf&download

The study made it clear how important it is for all of us to have access to broadband connectivity. With over 10 million of our citizens working abroad, this service provides the separated fathers, mothers and children an opportunity to keep in constant touch as virtual families.

The Filipino Diaspora is no doubt a big contributor to our reputation as the “texting capital of the world” and the “social media capital of the world”. The study notes we now have “the fastest growing Internet population in the world, with penetration rising from six percent in 2008 to 37 percent in 2013.

“However, given the relatively low fixed Internet penetration due to limited infrastructure and high costs (only 2.6 percent of the population has a fixed broadband subscription), mobile is the primary device for accessing the Internet, with mobile Internet adoption reaching 62 percent of total subscribers in Q3 2014. This is the 3rd highest in Southeast Asia (behind Thailand and Malaysia)…

“At the same time, the growth in smart phones and improved network connectivity has helped drive higher speed mobile broadband (3G and 4G) penetration which, at 37 percent, is higher than all other benchmarked countries…”

GSMA Intelligence points out that “the Philippines has an advanced mobile market when compared to other similar countries. Half of the population subscribes to mobile services, 3G penetration is relatively high at just under 40 percent, smart phone adoption is rapidly growing, and Internet penetration is increasing at the fastest rate of any country in Asia with the vast majority of new users coming online via mobile…

“A key driver in the continued push of mobile Internet and the digital service layer is smart phone growth. The Philippines is one of the fastest growing smart phone markets in Southeast Asia, with annual smart phone connections growth of 75 percent over the last four years – again above the average for Southeast Asia and the benchmarked countries.

“Smart phone sales are expected to overtake feature phone sales in the Philippines in early 2015 and, having taken a few years to filter down into the installed base, smart phone connections will overtake feature phone connections in 2016.

“Additionally, the Philippines will have the highest smart phone adoption of the benchmarked countries by 2016 with 54 percent, overtaking Indonesia on 53 percent.A major driver behind this rapid growth has been the emergence of affordable, local smart phone brands such as Cherry Mobile and MyPhone, which are providing low cost smart phones at feature phone prices.”

The GSMA study goes on to highlight that “the combination of a youthful and literate population that is ‘hyper engaged’ with mobile, a large proportion of English speakers, an improving economy, the Philippines is being transformed into a leader in mobile and digital technologies and an innovation hotbed in Southeast Asia…”

But, the study notes, “a key area is digital inclusion. The social and economic incentive to expand mobile and innovative mobile solutions into underserved provinces is now a key focus, building on the success that has already been demonstrated in high density urban cities.

“Narrowing the digital divide between advanced urban cities and outlying rural regions is of key importance…”

This is, I guess, where the government sponsored Free Wifi project addresses a need. I am not familiar with DOST’s deployment strategy, but I hope they will prioritize far-flung areas not adequately covered, if at all, by the commercial operators.

The Philippines is among the leaders in this digital revolution. But narrowing the digital divide in a way that would provide access to every Filipino wherever in the country he or she might be, is the ultimate challenge.

Good luck to DOST. I like the vision and the determination to deliver because that is not common in the Aquino Cabinet today. –Boo Chanco (The Philippine Star)

Boo Chanco’s e-mail address is bchanco@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @boochanco