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Sunday, December 28, 2003
Cabaero: No way to go but up
By Nini B. Cabaero
Beyond 30
The number of Internet users and subscribers in the Philippines has gone up in the past three years. This trend is not unexpected.
For the Philippines, which is low in terms of technology access and usage compared with its Asian neighbors, there is no way to go but up.
The National Telecommunications Commission reports that Internet subscribers in the Philippines grew 131 percent, from 800,000 in 2002 to 1.85 million in 2003. In a regional context, the rise in Internet usage in the Philippines pales in comparison with advances in other Asian countries.
Indonesia boasts of over four million Internet users, while India continues to be in the forefront of developing new technology because of its growing class of high-tech workers and entrepreneurs.
Estimates in the number of Internet users show the 500,000 to 1.5 million in year 2000 rose to 2 million in 2001 and then to 3.5 million by year 2003. The number of Internet users is about three times that of Internet subscribers because one does not have to be an Internet subscriber to be a user.
Connecting to the World Wide Web is possible almost 24 hours from the corner Internet café. What the numbers say is that Filipinos see the value of the Internet as a communication medium and as an information resource with more and more people staying connected.
But, compared with other countries, the Philippines is way below in terms of Internet penetration. A global technology index in 2002 by the Meta Group, an IT research and consulting firm based in the United States, showed the Philippines ranked 43rd in Internet penetration out of 49 countries covered in the report. Average IT spending of Philippine firms as a percentage of revenue is 0.6 percent which is a far cry from the 5 to 10 percent that American companies spend.
The Philippines has an Electronic Commerce Act that recognizes the “vital role of information and communications technology (ICT) in nation-building.” The law tries to address the “need to create an information-friendly environment which supports and ensures the availability, diversity and affordability of ICT products and services.”
Tasked to implement the law are the Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Budget and Management and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. They are to coordinate with the Department of Transportation and Communications, National Telecommunications Commission, National Computer Center, National Information Technology Council, Commission on Audit, other agencies and the private sector. The law was passed in year 2000.
Steps have been taken by the government and private sector to close the digital divide or the gap between accessibility and inaccessibility of technology.
All these efforts point to one goal – that of closing the digital divide because this also means closing the achievement gap between the Philippines and other countries.
(e-mail:ninicab@ sunstar. com.ph)
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