To address the great divide, double the drive for digital infrastructure
December 28, 2022The Philippines should double or even quadruple its drive to build telecommunications infrastructure to address the digital divide in the Philippines.
While private telecommunication companies have been doing a commendable job of ramping up their investments by the billions every year, still we are not able to compete with other countries whose governments invest heavily and strategically on a national scale in digital infrastructure, with a vision of becoming a globally competitive digital economy.
The Philippine Digital Economy Report 2020 of the World Bank and National Economic and Development Authority and said that there is a very significant digital divide in the Philippines with the majority of households lacking Internet access and low fixed and mobile Internet penetration.
Digital access and proficiency remain limited and uneven, with many geographic locations and socio-economic groups not being able to use technology to its full potential.
This contributes to unequal opportunities to harness the benefits of online services that are delivered via the Internet.
It is heartening to know that digital transformation is now top of mind of the government leadership. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. at the recent Telco Summit said that the country’s current 70-percent connectivity rate is not good enough, and that the government and its partners could do so much better.
Moreover, boosting connectivity and the digitizing public services and bureaucratic processes are among the key strategies of the recently approved 5-year Philippine Development Plan.
The government and the private sector now have a great opportunity to ride on this momentum and must move together to meet the fast-growing demand for speedy and reliable broadband services.
Our ability to quickly shift to online transactions at the height of the pandemic gave all of us experiential proof of the great value and utility of digital technologies. The way all consumers and businesses are now heavily reliant on doing transactions online should be a clear impetus for the government to prioritize the fast development of digital assets that will at least be at par with global standards.