Wazzup Pilipinas!
The Filipino people have been paying the most expensive yet the poorest Internet connection.
When Telstra was reported to enter the Philippines as another Internet Service Provider, we thought we'll be getting a better alternative. But it seems it got bought down by the big players.
Now a provider from China is lurking around the corner.
The only good thing about China Telecom joining in our telco competition is that current providers such as PLDT or Smart, Globe, Sky Broadband, etc. will up their game.
Other internet providers from Australia, Japan, etc. have expressed their desire to setup shop here way earlier than this news. Why do you think China Telecom was chosen?
The government should break the monopoly of all utility companies not only on telcos or Internet but on electricity as well. Our people deserve fast, cheap and dependable services.
Many were excited to hear the news that China Telecom was invited by our government to operate as 3rd telco player in our country.
It is interesting to note that China Telecom, the no.1 telco in china, is state-owned. They are using government-owned telco infrastructure.
In the Philippines, we still have to see government investing the same. The ZTE project during Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's term was the one, unfortunately, Benigno Simeon Cojuangco Aquino III shelved it most probably due to the issues of corruption surrounding its transactions.
No third player will succeed without the government's investment. That is why Telstra backed out.
"Historically, China Telecom used to be the sole telecommunications service provider in China as the operational arm of the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications. Through a series of restructurings beginning in 1994, partly triggered by popular dissatisfaction with China Telecom’s services, the Chinese government’s telecoms operations were divided among three state-owned entities: China Unicom, China Mobile and China Telecom."
Honestly, opening more players in the telco industry is a nice move for the general consumers. Hopefully, they can go beyond what our existing telcos have neen forcing on us.
We are already in the digital age that almost everything can be done online yet telcos are suppressing our freedom to fully maximize what we have been paying for.
Another thing which we should consider is that China implements internet censorship. In their country, they had blocked Google, Facebook, YouTube, Yahoo, Twitter, Wikipedia, Instagram, Pinterest, Dropbox, Vimeo, Flickr, Tumblr, WhatsApp, Blogspot, etc. so even if they are ranked higher over us in speed it could be because they don't encounter Internet traffic as we do.
China Telecom could be a poor choice in giving better service to the Philippines.
Ross is known as the Pambansang Blogger ng Pilipinas - An Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Professional by profession and a Social Media Evangelist by heart.
