Telcos: Blame PHL’s poor internet service on government
STEADY improvements in the telecommunications industry were seen toward the end of 2015, data from research firms showed, as operators stepped up investments in their data networks.
According to the latest Asia Network Quality Report of JP Morgan Securities, advances were most felt in the carriers’ 3G mobile data service, as the country’s average 3G download speed increased from 1.77 megabits per second (Mbps) in the third quarter to 2.09 Mbps in the fourth quarter of 2015.
Data from crowd-sourcing wireless coverage research firm OpenSignal showed that 3G download speed in the Philippines is now higher than in Thailand’s, at 1.46 Mbps; Japan, 1.56 Mbps; and Hong Kong, 2.05 Mbps.
Note, however, that these countries have wider and far more advanced LTE coverage, which is, to date, the fastest wireless data technology available.
Among Philippine carriers, wireless services provider Smart Communications Inc. set the pace in this period, raising its average 3G download speed from 1.66 Mbps in the third quarter to 2.54 Mbps in the fourth. “The report highlights the strategy we’ve embraced in our network investments.
We’ve paid specific attention to enhancing our 3G capacity and resiliency because about 90 percent of our subscribers who go online use 3G handsets.
“Improving our 3G data service delivers immediate benefits to the largest number of people in our subscriber base,” said Ariel P. Fermin, who heads Smart’s Consumer Group.
He added that the company is, likewise, building its capacity to offer better LTE services by widening its coverage and increasing its capacity.
“At the same time, we are also building for the future. So we continue to roll out our 4G/LTE network because we expect more and more people to start using 4G/LTE handsets,” Fermin said.
Combined, the average LTE speed of Smart and rival Globe Telecom Inc. has risen from about 5 Mbps in early 2015 to over 10 Mbps by year-end.
Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT), the parent firm of Smart, had allotted P43 billion in capital outlays last year. Globe, on the other hand, spent around P32.1 billion in capital in 2015.
Bulk of these figures were used to boost the capacity and resiliency of the their fixed line and mobile- data service in anticipation of surges in data usage.
The results of this effort appear to be reflected in the test results in the JP Morgan report.
Smart’s 3G download speeds in Caloocan City, for example, rose from 2.08 Mbps in October to 2.91 Mbps in December last year.
It also rose from 2.09 Mbps to 3.30 Mbps in Pasig, and from 1.77 Mbps to 2.32 Mbps in Davao over the same period.
“This is a moving target because customer habits are shifting to more bandwidth-heavy services like video streaming. Mindful of that, we are focused on building and maintaining a superior network as the foundation of our digital strategy,” Fermin said.
But for Globe General Counsel Froilan M. Castelo, the government must also play its part in driving the digital economy to its peak.
He urged the government to do away with the bureaucracy and allow the local companies to build more cell sites to further boost their networks.
The Philippines, with 15,000 cell sites, is only higher than Cambodia and Australia, both with 9,000; Myanmar with 7,620 and Sri Lanka with 7,000. By comparison, the US has a total of 205,000 cell towers in place.
Castelo said mobile-data explosion, amid growing access to Internet connectivity, requires more bandwidth than the traditional voice and text messaging services. Thus, it demands the establishment of more cell sites for telecommunication operators to deliver mobile-data services, especially indoors.
As smartphones continue to evolve into all-encompassing wireless personal computers, telecommunication operators need to construct additional cell sites to enable their respective networks to transmit enormous amount of data.
Cell sites transmit radio frequency signals that enable voice and data services in a given geographic area, simultaneously supporting multiple handsets, operating in different frequencies and maintaining customer connectivity even while they are in transit.
“The continuing clamor for better broadband-service quality and experience has to do with the issue of congestion. Despite various capability upgrades and network modernization using the latest technologies, the disproportionate number of cell sites vis-à-vis traffic in the advent of a digital revolution cancels out the gains of any state-of-the-art network,” Castelo said.
“We have to start facing the reality that more and more Filipinos, especially the millennials, are joining the digital bandwagon. Using any smartphone, the Internet in the hands of an individual enriches one’s lifestyle.
In so doing, the country’s existing Internet infrastructure needs to catch up with the demand for data whether on mobile or at home.”
The Philippines, being an archipelago, is a challenge to connectivity. With a population of 102 million in 42,000 barangays, it has to have a greater number of cell sites to cover existing usage.
“Today we already need around 60,000 to 65,000 [cell sites] in a three-player market for telco companies to provide a more pervasive reach and better Internet speeds. In the next couple of years, smartphone penetration will go even higher and we will need to fill that gap, as well,” he said.
Castelo emphasized that the prohibitive permitting environment, site acquisition and right-of-way issues have kept telecommunication operators from aggressively rolling out broadband infrastructure to boost Internet speeds in the country.
Globe alone has more than 500 cell sites waiting to be built at any given time.
“A lot of the infrastructure backlogs in the telecommunications industry could be attributed to challenges in getting local government permits. This is why Globe has been calling on the government to provide policy support for initiatives to improve Internet infrastructure in the country,” he said.
Specifically, prioritizing an Open Access law for the telco industry would expedite the issuance of all the relevant permits for all telecommunications facilities at the local government level. Such legislation is also seen to mitigate bureaucratic red tape and other political hurdles that stand in the way in the deployment of telecommunication and broadband infrastructure, Castelo said.
He pointed out that telecommunication companies are required to secure at least 25 permits—a few of which were also mentioned in the Broadband Policy paper— that cause delay in the deployment of Internet infrastructure such as cell sites and fiber builds, among others.
According to Castelo, securing different permits at the local government level could become very challenging, from the sheer number of permits to the different political personalities that mobile operators have to deal with.
“Permit or regulatory fees imposed by various local government units should cover only the reasonable costs of regulation. Prior to enactment of any pertinent ordinance, local government units should be mandated to present an itemized proof of said regulatory costs,” he said.
“A public hearing involving telecommunications companies and other stakeholders within their jurisdictions should also be conducted prior to the enactment of any local ordinance. Also, when these costs are requested in writing, a local government unit should be able to respond with the requested information in writing.”
If only the government can prioritize telco infrastructure builds, not only will a majority of consumers benefit because of better Internet speed and better service quality but it will also connect other important areas to the Internet in a scale that has not been done before, like public health centers and public schools, Castelo added.
“This will address a lot of issues, especially in the delivery of basic social services, disaster response and education, at the barangay level,” he said.
The United States Agency for International Development and the Joint Foreign Chambers have recently released a Broadband Policy that suggests solutions to the needs of the telco industry in the Philippines.
Source: www.businessmirror.com.ph
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