Daven Tamayo

5G adoption in PH seen to grow significantly by 2030

A cellular site tower in Caloocan City on August 06, 2020. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News

Article (news)

Andrea Taguines

ABS-CBN News

MANILA — Nearly 50 percent of mobile connections in the Philippines are seen to be over 5G technology by 2030, a huge jump from just 6 percent of connections in 2023, according to a new study by the Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA) released on Tuesday.This forecast comes as the country makes strides in expanding its digital infrastructure, including the rollout of 5G networks by major operators and the expansion of satellite networks to improve connectivity and speeds nationwide, it said.GSMA Asia Pacific Head Julian Gorman said this puts the Philippines slightly above average compared to other countries in the region.“At the end of the decade, the most advanced nations are heading towards 90 percent 5G, but the slower nations are actually still in their teens. So Philippines is tracking quite well, slightly above average,” he said.For major players like Globe and Smart, this now goes beyond just providing better connectivity but even more economic opportunities, particularly for small business owners and gig economy workers.“The digital economy will balloon to about P5 trillion in terms of total economic value by 2030. Now, or since 2022, it’s been at P2.1 trillion so it’s going to more than double. It’s going to be 27 percent of GDP,” said Globe Chief Commercial Officer Darius Delgado.Smart Communications Chief Operating Officer Boy Martirez also highlighted the industry’s role in the upskilling of the Filipino workforce.“One of the darling industries in the Philippines is the BPO industry, 7.5 percent of our GDP and millions of workforce. (When) AI comes with the chatbots, these guys are in danger of being displaced unless they upskill… We as telcos have a role to play because in upskilling, we got to build the most robust internet connection,” said Martirez.<div>USAGE GAP</div>But according to GSMA, the Philippines is also currently in a three-way tie for having the world’s largest mobile usage gap.It said 55 million people or 45 percent of the population are still not online, even if internet services are already available in some of these cases.That’s as affordability remains a major challenge particularly for rural areas and vulnerable groups.Apart from expanding mobile infrastructure across the archipelago, both the GSMA and private stakeholders believe that updating antiquated laws can help lower the cost of delivering internet services.“There’s a number of enablers making it easier to roll out infrastructure by removing complexities of right-of-way, making spectrum available… The main thing is you bring the policymakers, the ecosystem and the mobile operators together and agree on a vision,” said Gorman.One example of a policy that needs to be reviewed, according to Globe, is spectrum management.“Our spectrum use fees are still on the high side compared to rest of the world… Anyone who is a mobile operator coming into the Philippines, they will be able to benefit from (lower fees) and ultimately the beneficiary will be the common users,” said Manny Estrada, Globe’s VP for Regulatory Development and Strategy.GSMA also noted that expensive spectrum negatively impacts the quality of mobile networks through reduced investment and slower deployment of the latest network technologies.Gorman added that there may also be a need to reconsider legislative franchises for telcos to encourage the entry of more players.“It’s important that we encourage a vibrant, competitive infrastructure ecosystem… that’s willing to invest and fail, to be honest. We need to try and test and push the boundaries,” he said.<div>DIGITAL TRUST EMERGENCY</div>GSMA said the prevalence of scams and online fraud also undermine trust in digital services and therefore discourage adoption.Its research showed that 29 percent of consumers surveyed in the Philippines have been a victim of financial crime, such as identity theft and security breaches.For its part, Globe has partnered with GSMA in beefing up its cybersecurity.“Our own capabilities won’t suffice. We have fortified and made resilient all our cybersecurity controls, making sure that all of the potential cyber attacks we are able to mitigate substantially but there are some technologies like those instigated by IMSI catchers which actually bypass our security measures,” said Delgado.Just recently, Globe’s e-wallet unit GCash was hit by a supposed glitch that sparked outcry among users who experienced unauthorized fund transfers.The company insisted that there was no hacking involved, and that all the affected funds have since been returned.But as an extra auditing measure, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) is pushing for a bill that would require private companies handling critical information infrastructures to disclose to the government whenever they are hit by cyber attacks.“It’s for their own survival. To be able to pursue digitalization and for them to be able to generate more business, you need trust. You need the public to trust their system,” said DICT Secretary Ivan Uy.Globe’s Delgado expressed support for the measure, saying the market deserves that level of transparency.

Nearly 50 percent of mobile connections in the Philippines are seen to be over 5G technology by 2030, a huge jump from just 6 percent of connections in 2023, according to a new study by the Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA) released on Tuesday.

Nearly 50 percent of mobile connections in the Philippines are seen to be over 5G technology by 2030, a huge jump from just 6 percent of connections in 2023, according to a new study by the Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA) released on Tuesday.