Towards universal internet access in the Philippines

In recognition of the Internet as a tool for national development, the Philippine government made a commitment to provide, by 2010, universal access to the Internet through public access points. But, there are serious concerns regarding its ability to meet this obligation. The assumptions and practices that had dominated policy deliberations and reforms in the past are now outdated in the face of dramatic technological and market changes. Further, there is no strategic plan to implement the (de facto) universal access strategy, and there is a lack of clear institutional mechanisms for orchestrating coherent and effective activities. Although technological developments rendered some of the country\u27s policies and strategies obsolete, they however opened up opportunities for increasing popular access to ICT. For example, Convergence created new and lower cost possibilities for marginalized communities to access the Internet. Attention on the involvement of local governments and communities in the development of rural information infrastructure also increased. Having analyzed these gaps and opportunities, the authors of this paper endorse a set of recommendations for universal Internet access in the country. These are: • Maintaining the pro-competitive, market-friendly policy environment for ICT development. This should include technology-neutral laws, policies and other issuances, competition-policy law or framework for the information economy, open access to networks policy, a Broadband Bill of Rights\u27, and spectrum management policy review;• Redirecting national government efforts away from funding CeC deployment to funding the development of relevant online content and the provision of e-Government services to citizens;• Involving local government units in the provision of community internet access centers and eGovernment services;• Reviewing Universal Access Fund and Mandatory Obligation for telcos. This paper questions the creation of a Universal Access Fund and endorses a Revised Mandatory Service Obligation that takes advantage of the resources and expertise of the private sector in putting up and managing CeCs.• Incorporating public-private partnerships irn the national effort to push government\u27s universal access programs;Piloting Local Open Access Networks similar to those now being . implemented in various developing countries including Africa and Latin America. This special type of access initiative characterized by a \u27localized broadband\u27 presents an alternative to the usual top-down information infrastructure deployment approach and commits to build on the value of local capacities; • Enhancing our capacity-building and training programs, noting that computer literacy and awareness are imperative before key services can be delivered successfully online; • Supporting the creation of a Department of Information and Communication Technology to direct all ICT efforts of the government and to oversee our universal internet access strategy; • Ensuring that the universal internet access policy and strategy be in consonance with over-all national development plans. • Improving on our indicators and statistics on universal service and universal access in the Philippines which will serve as important bases for policy-formulation and programming of government ICT projects