Telco reiterates government’s role in solving internet woes

CEBU, Philippines - Although telecom companies may have the capacity to make Internet connectivity faster, government intervention still plays a crucial role to fast track infrastructure development.

Globe Telecom chief commercial officer Albert Larrazabal said government cooperation plays a vital role  in addressing the problem on slow internet connectivity in the country, as well as the high cost of internet rate.

  Larrazabal said the problem of telecom players now is not about the amount of capex they have to allocate to overhaul the current network, but the government's inability to speed up the process of issuing permits and other necessary documents that lengthens the agony of internet users who are constantly complaining of slow connection.

 Larrazabal mentioned the long process a telecom firm has to go through in order to set up one cell site. He said this particular process alone is tasking and takes time to complete, how much more with other permits needed for other improvement projects.

  He said Globe Telecom is doing its best to improve the quality of data speed and bandwidth in the country on the ground that this is also the company's interest to provide good and quality service. But unless, the concerned agencies in the national to local government units will not cooperate loosen the requirements and series of needed permits, it will take time for the telecom industry to achieve ideal speed in Internet service.

Larrazabal clarified that telecom firms have the money to invest, but implementation and completion of major infrastructure improvement is always derailed by physical limitations such as permits, among others.

The Philippines, he said is often compared to other countries in Asia in terms of speed and even cost, but Larrazabal reminded the consumers that these countries specifically in Asia have subsidized its telecom sector, which means that their governments included telecommunication infrastructure  in their national programs and policies.

 Unless the government will put down its hand on the problem, it will take a while for the telecom firms to catch up with the fast evolving technology path.

 He mentioned that Globe Telecom for instance overhauled its infrastructure in 2011 — changing the entire network system, "but we never thought that it could only last for couple of years. Now, we need to upgrade again."

 Globe's additional allocation in the 2600 MHz frequency is among the spectrum assets that it gained following the joint buyout of San Miguel Corp.’s telecommunications assets.

 In Vismin, Globe's total number of sites equipped with the 2600 MHz frequency has reached 500 sites, to cover big businesses and highly urbanized populated residential areas.

The accelerated deployment of the 2600 MHz provides additional data capacity through the Carrier Aggregation technology, using this spectrum with other LTE frequencies.

 Larrazabal was in Cebu recently to update its corporate clients on Globe's varied corporate technology packages, which are design for them to exploit technology in order to maximize the bullish economy. (FREEMAN)