Saturday, November 18, 2006 Internet penetration in RP slow, near bottom of 14 countries in Asia
TELECOMMUNICATIONS company Smart Communications Inc. (Smart), is encouraging the country’s education sector and the country, in general, to take advantage of the bullish outlook of the country’s telecommunications industry.
“The Philippines is going broadband. The country’s telecom industry is rapidly deploying broadband networks and merging voice, data and video in a single consumer experience,” said Danilo Mojica, Smart’s wireless consumer division head.
The problem lies on the yet slow Internet penetration in the country.
“Technology is easy. The hard part is getting people to embrace the opportunities for change,” he told participants to the “International Congress on information and communications technology (ICT): Global Challenge in Education,” which commenced last Thursday at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino.
12th place
Mojica said a study on the Internet penetration in Asia showed that Philippines ranked 12th, with a 5.3 percent penetration rate, among 14 countries in Asia. It almost leveled with India and Pakistan, which have Internet penetration rate of 3.2 percent and 1.3 percent, respectively.
South Korea ranked first in the study with an Internet penetration level of 65.7 percent. Australia, Japan and Singapore have Internet penetration rate of 65.3 percent, 58.7 percent and 55.8 percent, respectively.
Mojica said Smart has been developing products and services, such as the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co.’s (PLDT) fixed broadband, myDSL; Smartbro, a fixed wireless broadband; WiFi hotspots with airborne access and mobile broadband with Smart 3G, to make high-speed Internet accessible to anyone.
Dream
“Our dream is to make finding high-speed Internet as easy as using your 3G (third generation) phone or walking over to your neighborhood sari-sari store,” he sad.
Smart and PLDT has also developed business packages to bring Internet connectivity to the rural areas as well as provide business opportunities to individual entrepreneurs.
These packages include shared access with Smartbro computer — Internet stations connected via fixed wireless broadband in a village or neighborhood stores; shared access with Smartbro pedicabs; and stand alone prepaid Internet stations connected via fixed wireless broadband in various places, such as mini-stop shops and schools.
“As broadband access becomes more widely available, the challenge is how to utilize these networks to give Philippine education a boost,” Mojica said. (JBN)
