We're excited about two developments in the technology arena, something that will affect all consumers and help to improve our lives.
First, is the empowerment of our youth and office workers through a genuine low-cost PC initiative, and second, are the concrete moves to create a real Internet in the Philippines.
The PC4All initiative is a result of a review of the failed PC ng Bayan initiative of 2005.
Wheareas the older PC ng Bayan was an ugly commodity PC loaded with expensive commercial software, the new PC4All is a sleek compact unit loaded with free, industry-standard, open-source software.
With a price of P25,000, the 2005 PC ng Bayan was little more than a thinly disguised attempt to sell expensive technology, and inappropriate commercial software, to poor teachers, cash-strapped schools, and starving students. Nakalimutan na ang konsiyensiya para lang kumita, and the resulting PC ng Bayan wasn't even cheaper than commercially available PCs.
At a mere P10,000, the 2007 PC4All complete with operating system, office software, web browser, monitor, keyboard, and mouse, is a genuine endeavor to improve technology access in schools, teachers, students, and government offices.
Credit goes to CITC head Ramon Sales, whose private sector experience has been invaluable in identifying critical issues and crucial directions for Philippine IT Policy.
More importantly, the PC4All runs on open source software, and compatible open source applications, providing opportunities for students to study, analyze and build upon the openly available source code.
The Philippine Software Industry Association ambitiously proclaims that it will employ 100,000 programmers in 2010, up from 14,000 in 2006, so the education system better ensure that today's students have access to open source computer code for study and practice.
Beyond education, employing the low-cost PC4All in government offices will make it easier to adopt technology driven solutions for e-governance. Using a Web Browser, government agencies can update records, and the people can check on their accounts and filings with government via the Internet.
The second exciting development is the move, spearheaded by the Department of Science and Technology's Advanced Science and Technology Institute, to create a real Internet in the Philippines.
As it is, our Internet is a mere branch of the real Internet. When a user accesses another user on a rival network, the data travels all the way to the United States where the real Internet is then back to the country on a nother cable to the rival network.
Having a real Internet means that all the Internet Service Providers and all the major users are interconnected locally, and not dependent on a fragile cable off Taiwan. Ever since that cable broke on December 26, Internet access has been spotty, and the latest pronouncements are that it won't be fixed until February 21st.
PLDT says they didn't plan for redundancy because such events only happen once every one hundred years. Technology failures also happen rarely, around once every several hundred thousand hours, but that doesn't mean that responsible businesses should ignore the need for back-ups and failsafes.
Imagine if your bank told you one day that your account has been wiped out because their system failed and they didn't have a back-up “because these kinds of things only happen once every one hundred years.” In the future, would you rely on that bank?
The problem with the hundred year argument is that failures can happen at the worst times, just when we need it most, such as during an earthquake, a time of war, or other calamity.
Better redundancy, fault-tolerance, and lower cost of Internet access is the goal of the PHOpenIX, a joint project of DOST-ASTI, Globe Innove, Cisco Systems, and the international organizations Packet Clearing House of the US and Consulintel of Europe.
PHOpenIX is a non-profit cooperative operation. Members of PHOpenIX share operating costs and bandwidth among themselves, and invite others to join them through their website.
ISPs and heavy bandwidth users, such as call centers and call center property developers are encouraged to hook up with PHOpenIX and share their bandwidth in exchange for better Internet performance and reliability.
Previous telco-run Internet exchanges where really just repackaged Internet subscriptions that rendered independent ISPs vulnerable to price-squeezes. It did not serve its purpose because all the bandwidth still originated from the owner of the Internet exchange (and that infamous cable off-Taiwan).
Looking ahead, a truly cooperative PHOpenIX provding redundant, reliable Internet nationwide opens doors of opportunities: Outsourcing in provincial areas, and server farms for the rest of the world maintained by local IT engineers.
Another benefit is that ISPs would be inclined to encourage customers to contribute to the Internet, not merely use the Internet, in order to boost their inbound traffic. Business users would be encouraged to provide services, and ISPs would be inclined to lower the prices of business Internet subscriptions, as more inbound traffic into their network improves their standing among peers in the Internet Exchange.
Furthermore, a PHOpenIX linked ISP in Mindanao may consider links (via cable or microwave) with counterparts in East Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brunei, or to Papua New Guinea, Guam, and Australia to the East, strategies a dominant Manila-based telco is not likely to consider.
