I USED to say that for as long as there is a signal, we can deliver public services via online means.
Well, I do not say that anymore, because nowadays, there is always a signal everywhere, and where there is none, we could always install a device that will provide a signal.
In a manner of speaking, it could be said that there is no more place to run, because there is always a signal everywhere, no matter where you run to. Not that we want to run away from anything, but what I really mean is that we could now deliver public services everywhere.
Looking at that from another perspective, what I really mean is that everyone could now have access to online public services no matter where they are.
Although it could be said that there is now a signal everywhere, it still could not be said that the signal everywhere is good.
Actually, having a good signal is a relative term, because what is good enough for one user may not be good enough for another. Needing a good signal is one thing, knowing how good or how bad it is, is another thing.
As far as this is concerned, there is no other alternative but to measure the signal properly or scientifically, I should say. From the perspective of the ordinary user, his or her only way to measure the signal is to check the signal bar indicator in his or her mobile phone. From the perspective of government regulators however, there are scientific and technical ways of doing it.
Just to digress a little bit, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has publicly admitted that it does not have the equipment needed to measure the safety if food and drugs.
In fairness to the FDA administrators, we have to presume that they have not been lacking in requesting the funds to be added to their annual budget. Suffice it to say however that the past Congresses have not approved their requests, and thus they still do not have the equipment that they need.
What we seem to have here is an apparent disconnect between the Congress and the FDA and instead of blaming one or both of them, the citizenry by way of concerned Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) should just intervene and close the gap.
The apparent disconnect between Congress and the FDA seems to have a parallel in a similar disconnect between Congress and the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC). It appears that the NTC has also been requesting the past Congresses for a budget that would enable them to measure the quality of the signal as these are being promised by the telco companies.
These requests have apparently been denied, leaving the NTC with no means to do what they have to do. As far as I know, the budget would reach a few billions, but that is really just a pittance compared to the many billions worth of signal that the telco companies could be delivering far below what they promise.
As it is supposed to be, the signal quality that is supposed to be delivered by the telco companies are supposed to have a Service Level Agreement (SLA) that legally binds them to deliver what they are promising.
There is, however, a catch to the telco promises, because they would only say that their commitment is UP TO a certain speed, but not exactly binding themselves to a minimum speed. That is like buying rice wherein the vendor will promise you to deliver UP TO one sack of rice, but then he will only deliver one cup of rice, but still he would get away with it.
The comparison with rice is not exact, because it has a measurement while the signal could not be measured now, because there is no equipment for that purpose.
As I understand it, there are some NGOs that are now looking into the possibility of filing estafa charges against the telco companies, possibly even through a class suit. While that may be a good idea to put pressure on the part of the telco companies to deliver what they promise, that idea would not go anywhere not unless the equipment to scientifically measure the signal is available. Otherwise, if no solid evidence could be presented to the courts that the telco companies are really stealing the money of its customers by not delivering the quality that they have sold, the case could not be won.
I say that the bandwidth is the bottom line, because no amount of powerful devices and exceptional software could improve our connectivity experience, not unless good bandwidth is available where the people would need it.
My analogy about the rice is intentional, because right now, we have the lowest quality of rice in Asia, with the highest price. As we look into that, we should also investigate why we have one of the lowest internet speeds in Asia, even if we are among the countries with the highest prices.
If you ask me, I will tell you that many of our people would not mind paying high prices for internet, for as long as they also get the high speeds that they need./PN
