Of TROs and telcos
After President Duterte won in the elections, I wrote a column where I mentioned the need to stop judges from arbitrarily or habitually issuing Temporary Restraining Orders or TROs because these were part of what delayed or stopped government biddings and projects particularly under the DOTC and the DPWH. The LTO has been the subject of so many TROs in 2015 alone and the most common source of TROs are, but not limited to, Manila or Pasay City.
I don’t know if Chief Justice Sereno or the Supreme Court has the facility or the means to do it, but two things that might be very useful to computerize and make available to the courts, the media and to the public are a running tally or summary of TROs issued by judges on behalf of companies/petitioners and Bail bonds paid by defendants or accused. I make this suggestion because I recently heard of a criminal or a gang that allegedly paid bail for a crime they committed six times in a row. By making this available on the Internet, Judges might be a little more careful in issuing TROs or bail especially to repeat offenders or habitual petitioners.
* * * Some Netizens are apparently trying to call the President’s attention to the state of telecoms in the Philippines by revisiting President Duterte’s campaign statement that he would approve the entry of foreign telecoms companies (Telstra) if the current operators don’t shape up. We all know that Telstra abandoned the Philippines while San Miguel Corporation made the best of a difficult situation by passing the problem to Smart and Globe.
Given public expectations, I am a bit puzzled why Malacañang prioritized the Freedom of Information bill instead of addressing pressing consumer needs such as infrastructure and public utilities. If President Duterte does get around to talking about the state of telecommunications in the Philippines it might be wise for him to send in a team to find out exactly “What is the problem of Telecommunications in the Philippines” instead of just giving them a deadline to shape up because he will be disappointed with the outcome.
The truth is telcos will find it extremely hard if not close to impossible to meet consumer demands and public expectations due to technical and statistical realities. First, nearly half of current subscribers are smart phone users who no longer use their phones for traditional voice calls or SMS resulting in reduced revenues for telcos. They are heavy users of Internet services which is where they do their chats via Skype, Viber and Messenger and where they download apps, movies etc. further eating Internet speed and slowing things down.
Each year thousands of new users or subscribers come into the market and as the economy grows or improves so does purchase and usage of the latest technologies and products. In other words the market is growing faster than the telcos can service. They can’t stop selling subscription or SIM cards because it’s their mandate as utility providers.
We all assume that the answer is expansion, right? “Dream on” says an industry expert. It takes an average of 25 signatures before you get approval to put up a tower. One tower I monitored took 18 months before it was completed and became operational. Notorious local government officials demand a donation or special use permit that can vary from P500,000 to P5 million. Every three years there’s a new sheriff in town because of local elections. To make matters worse, people don’t want to live near a tower or see a tower in their neighborhood for a host of reasons mostly petty. But when the towers are placed outside the town or city limits, they are vandalized, their equipment stolen or even blown up by the NPA or criminal elements that demand revolutionary taxes or protection money.
It would be best for everyone to manage their expectations. Sorry, service won’t improve immensely even if the President throws a hissy fit because the process and construction of a nationwide network takes time. Even if we roll out the red carpet for a foreign company like Telstra they won’t get things done until after the Duterte administration has left Malacañang because just like Globe and Smart, they will have to contend with the obstacles and difficulty of doing business in the Philippines. In fact they might not even want to because western corporate cultures are intolerant of bribery and corruption!
The cost of Internet service will still be the basis of internet speed, NO it won’t get any faster and NO it won’t be cheaper because the law of supply and demand that we all contributed to has been established. Too many people want something that is in too little supply of. Just like water and gasoline, telecommunications has become a very expensive commodity.
The days of promos and packages have to end and should be replaced by realistic offerings. The telcos will have to restructure their service packages to reflect the actual cost for an actual speed and deliver on that package and not operate on “averages and alibis.” Perhaps higher costs or higher prices will create indirect benefits such as less time in front of tablets and more interaction at the table just like higher fuel costs forced us to be responsible drivers who planned their trips and driving speed.
The redemption of telecommunications in the Philippines will not come from some foreign white knight. It will happen through correct industry regulation, appropriate government support and intervention, correct valuation and use of services and transparent corporate commitments and culture in the Philippines. We all have a stake in it and we all have something we can do about it.
* * * Email: utalk2ctalk@gmail.com