LGUs, electric cooperatives must help do away with connectivity barriers
June 12, 2023CitizenWatch calls on local government units and electric cooperatives across the country to eliminate barriers to broadband connectivity. Such choke points deprive their constituents of tangible economic opportunities.
This is not a technology or a capital issue. It is, rather, a bureaucratic bane that we can address swiftly and effectively with enough political will and commitment.
There are, of course, existing efforts by the national government and the private sector to introduce change to bureaucratic processes. There have also been laudable developments in terms of crafting policies that specifically encourage the establishment of telco infrastructure.
Still, implementers at the grassroots level play a major role in translating policy to actual reality. There are still administrative blocks at the site level that are delaying laudable developments in the powering up of telco towers.
LGUs have the discretion to adopt streamlined processes for establishing telco towers and other infrastructure in their area. Meanwhile, the electrification of telco towers already in place hinges on the efficiency of electric cooperatives to deliver power to them.
You can have all the equipment in place, but if they are not electrified, they might as well be white elephants.
A recent workshop conducted by the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) with the country’s telco players identified several challenges to the energization of telco towers: non-standardized processes, delays, confusion in obtaining permits, resource shortages, inflexible timelines and inconsistent fees, among others.
The participants agreed that improving coordination, standardizing requirements, and reducing delays are crucial for streamlining the process and accelerating the expansion of the country’s digital infrastructure.
We hope the President signs the Executive Order on Telecommunications Infrastructure Development soon. This will institutionalize the fast processing of permits and licenses relevant to digital infrastructure projects. It will also spell out the guidelines governing the establishment of telecommunication towers and other internet infrastructure, based on initial gains realized from two Joint Memorandum Circulars issued in 2020 and 2021 but which will expire end of next month.
Those two JMCs have enabled us to achieve substantial progress in the past years. We were able to significantly cut down the number of documentary requirements, number of permits needed, and the processing time for the applications.
A nation cannot be truly empowered if the opportunities and advantages are concentrated on one area, sector, or group of people.
We should harness cooperation between the public and private sector, and this means all levels of government from the national to the local levels. The sooner we can roll out a truly nationwide access to broadband services, the faster our economic rebound will be.