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Government & IT Infra: Lacking a
Backbone?
I must admit, when I first heard of the National Broadband
Network (NBN), as planned by the national government, I thought
of it as a progressive move by this administration. The
formulation of this plan, which at first was a seemingly
harmless infrastructure project, came in the heels of Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo’s SONA last year. In her speech, the President
attempted to impress the I.T. industry with the declaration of
her “Philippine Cyber-Corridor” concept. Recognizing I.T. and
I.T.-enabled services as the next sunrise industries, the
Philippine Cyber-Corridor is envisioned to lead the country’s
development efforts.
But, in light of a position paper published recently by two U.P.
School of Economics (UPSE) professors, I believe we must step
back and seriously consider this multimillion-dollar undertaking
that proposes to establish a third telecommunications backbone.
Professors Raul V. Fabella, UPSE dean, and Emmanuel S. de Dios
are of the educated opinion that there is no real need for the
NBN, much less a fourth backbone. The NBN comes side-by-side
with the Cyber-Education Project (CEP), which, if implemented,
will be another telecommunications grid. In a nutshell, the NBN
is supposed to interconnect government agencies (from national
down to barangay level) via the Internet. The CEP, on the other
hand, is meant for connecting public schools across the country.
There are a handful of grave issues here. Do we need the NBN,
much less the CEP? Aren’t existing telecoms infrastructure
adequate? The UPSE paper in fact states that the two existing
backbones — PLDT’s loop and Telecphil’s fishbone — are
under-utilized.
What of the financing behind NBN and CEP? The government of
China, in its newfound capitalistic role in the region, has
agreed to fund these two projects via ODA. Provided, mind you,
that the major contracts be awarded to mainland Chinese
companies. No bidding, apparently no questions asked.
Professors Fabella and de Dios present very compelling reasons
why the government, in the interest of public trust, vis-ŕ-vis
the failures known as NAIA 3 and Napocor, should abandon NBN and
CEP. Let’s not dwell on corruption issues anymore — this is a
never-ending tale in Philippine politics.
The arguments of these economics professors, in their paper
entitled “Lacking a Backbone: The controversy over the ‘National
Broadband Network’ and Cyber-Education Projects“, may be summed
up in this statement: Government should concentrate on its core
competencies. It is not, after all, an entrepreneur, much less a
technopreneur.
By Blogie
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