The way Science Secretary Mario Montejo talks about it, he makes it seem like he is at a loss on what the fuss is all about… To him it’s really just all about e-government. According to him, all he ever wanted to do was to gather already existing government assets that are not being utilized (like the dark fiber at TransCo) or not being utilized to the max (like the fiber at the LRT/MRT) and get all these working as a broadband network to bring government closer to the people.
“We want to forever change the way we receive services from government, how we teach our school children, how government provides health care and save people from natural disasters among others,” the science secretary exclaimed. In a conversation with me and the two UP economics professors who wrote the last NBN study, national scientist Dr. Raul Fabella and Dr. Noel de Dios, Secretary Montejo exclaimed that all he wanted to do was to formulate and implement an over-all digital strategy for government.
Mr. Montejo kept on reassuring us that it was never his intention to revive the NBN project of Ate Glue. He also said the proposal he submitted to P-Noy was merely a concept paper and did not have enough details yet on which to base an estimate for the project’s cost. But he emphasized the cost will definitely be a lot lower than the Ate Glue plan.
One more thing the science secretary kept on reassuring us is that the program will to a large extent depend on the participation of the private sector telco service providers. He said there is no intention to make government compete in areas where the private sector is already doing a good job. He just expressed worry that our private telcos, given their higher rates compared to many other countries, may be too inclined to protect their current profit levels to give government a good break on rates.
To fight that fear, the two economists told Mr. Montejo to use the competitive pressure of the market. But for market forces to work well, the economists advised Mr. Montejo to make sure no one of the private telcos gain even near monopoly powers. Government must exercise its function and duty to regulate the telcos not just to get the prices they are seeking for government’s e-government operations but for the sake of the consumers as well.
So, what exactly does Mr. Montejo plan to do?
He is looking at using current assets like the unused dark fiber of TransCo (now NGCP), MRT and LRT transmission lines and TELOF microwave facilities to set up a broadband backbone for government use. But the fiber optic lines of TransCo were part of the TransCo assets turned over to NGCP when TransCo was privatized. Government may have to pay NGCP for use of those assets. For now, however, it is enough for Mr. Montejo to know that there are still unused dark fibers that could theoretically be used. His plan is for government to acquire the necessary equipment to light up those fibers and to connect to telcos that will provide last mile connections to government offices.
Stressing the private sector role, Montejo said they plan to bid out to the private sector the opportunity to co-develop these assets and maintain the broadband infrastructure including some measure of redundancy. Government, he said, will then seek to leverage its assets and service requirements with existing private broadband operators and telcos to deliver a cost-efficient, high speed, high capacity broadband communications highway.
Montejo said he acknowledges that the private sector is definitely better in running and maintaining such highly technical infrastructure and he sees the private telcos as partners in the endeavor. The problem with government’s use of communication and information technology, he observed, is that every agency is doing their own thing. He wants to get every government agency working together to deliver e-government services to the citizenry. The plan he said, will start in the NCR where 70 percent of front line government services are delivered.
Montejo said they want an end to the nightmare of citizens in trying to get NBI clearances, passports, civil registry services, POEA clearances, driver’s licenses, car registration, health services, police reports and such other things. Just about time, I might add, as I had just been informed that people are lining up as early as 3 a.m. at the Robinson’s Galleria satellite office of the NBI that opens at 9 a.m. For a country of job seekers requiring NBI clearances, this is an outrage indeed.
One tech entrepreneur I consulted was still not too impressed by Montejo’s clarifications. He said that “the easiest part is the backbone portion. Kasi the fiber line is already installed. All you have to do is order those Huawei equipment and ‘light’ the fiber. Implementing those ‘last mile’ bidding contracts (assuming there is public auction) will take so long. I predict that the backbone can be easily fast-tracked and ‘lighted’ in three to six months. There will be a grand inauguration, photo-op and nine customers. Commissions are paid out and those who missed out on the ZTE will get their back pay.”
One thing is sure. Whatever they do in the course of implementing their e-government plans, there will be intense public scrutiny. It may be wise to implement in phases whose results can be easily ascertained. Winning back public confidence after ZTE will come in increments as P-Noy’s crew prove themselves different from Ate Glue’s. They should not try any fast breaks because as Ate Glue and her crew found out, there are no secrets in this town. And I warned Sec Montejo there will be plenty of us who will make sure that P-Noy’s boys stick to the straight and narrow if P-Noy doesn’t have the heart to call the KKKs around him to task himself.
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By: Boo Chanco – Demand and Supply
Source: The Philippine Star, Sept. 16, 2011
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