Protection bracket

More and more Filipinos find opportunities for improving their incomes through the use of the Internet. AFP FILE PHOTO

At last we are getting some good news on this most useful of modern tools that link billions of people all over the world: the internet.

Remember that our motorbiking leader, Duterte Harley, warned that the “duopoly” Globe Telecom and PLDT must improve their services in one year, or else…

It seems that at least three foreign watchers of the internet saw some progress in our ICT. Well, they even gave us better grades.

One was the ITU Development Index, named after the UN outfit International Telecommunication Union, which tracked internet service in 167 countries since 2010.

In 2015, we moved up to the 98th position, jumping from 105th in 2010, even ranking at 5th place in the Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and 15th in the entire Asia Pacific.

The index, in effect, follows the ICT trend in those countries, checking important indicators every year such as the number of landline and mobile users, internet access of the people, and even their literacy rates.

In another UN survey, called E-Government Development Index, or EGDI, we also improved from 95th in 2014 to 71st last year for a jump of—wow—24 steps.

The index, in turn, follows the three dimensions of e-government: online services, telecommunication infrastructure and human capital.

In the index we ranked 3rd in Asean, beaten only by Singapore and Malaysia.

Finally, in the Global Connectivity Index, or GCI, a benchmark of the overall digital economy in its 50 member countries, we improved from 42nd to 38th, as we even outstripped Indonesia and Vietnam.

By the way, the index covered things like ICT investments, 4G coverage and fiber optic connections.

Moreover, the Duterte administration also plans to build the government’s National Broadband Network for “free” wi-fi.

There is hope. Well, except that the newborn PCC, or Philippine Competion Commission, is still blocking the plans of PLDT and Globe for massive investments in broadband internet.

***

In its latest move, the nine- month old PCC asked the Court of Appeals to lift the injunction on the PCC “review” of the P70-billion deal of Globe and PLDT to acquire the 700 MHz bandwidth of the San Miguel group.

Those two telecom companies claimed they had at least 120 million subscribers, and so about two months ago, the Court of Appeals ordered the PCC to stop its “review.”

What foreign group was actually behind the “review,” of course, could only be a subject of whispers in the business community.

But the PCC insisted to the CA that the court erred in issuing the injunction, because the telcos did not have the right for injunctive relief because the P70-billion deal was against public interest.

Why? Well, according to the PCC website, the San Miguel group had the “potential” to become the third telco to compete against PLDT and Globe.

And never mind that nobody really forced San Miguel to sell its business to the two?

Just how the CA would treat the PCC motion for reconsideration, in the meantime, remained in the watchlist of the business sector.

While the PCC viewed the deal as anticonsumer, it nevertheless took its sweet time in its “review,” thus delaying the immediate rollout proposed by PLDT and Globe.

Remember that the 700 mhz bandwidth of San Miguel was idle all this time.

What did the PCC want, in the first place, for San Miguel to hold on to the valuable 700 mhz band—you know, “reserved” for some foreign groups?

Down here in my barangay, that would actually be the mother of all anticonsumer actions.

For if we only set aside the painfully theoretic academic arguments of the PCC, one question emerges: What is the foreign group that the PCC seems to be favoring in this case, even sacrificing the entire Filipino public by putting us on standby in the mobile broadband service?

The PCC argued that deal had shut the door on the “potential” third player, San Miguel.

The San Miguel group gave up its 700 mhz bandwidth, precisely because it wanted PLDT and Globe to use them immediately.

Meaning, San Miguel knew that it would take time to roll out the bandwidth, because it would need mountains of cash.

Thus, if PCC could have its way to protect us, it would prefer the San Miguel frequencies to be in the useless bracket.

And this commission is supposed to give us protection?