Sep

NBN-ZTE Contract: What A Tiny Penguin Has To Say

Rai

The Philippine ICT has been stirred by the very controversial National Broadband Network-ZTE (NBN-ZTE) Contract. To those who are out of the loop, out of the country, or out of their minds, here is a quick note of why NBN-ZTE Contract is the “in” thing:

What is the ZTE-NBN Contract?

According to Computer Professionals’ Union,

The proposed National Broadband Network can potentially interconnect all government agencies and institutions thus improving communications and interactions between them. By creating a huge LAN or wide area network (WAN), the NBN aims to construct a national backbone in lieu of local providers to provide internet access to local government units and institutions and to streamline government services. The use of new value-added services can also be of great advantage to institutions in the network such as VOIP and video conferencing, which can reduce communications charges for the government.

In other words, NBN aims to make government offices into a huge network of interconnected computers so government transactions, services and communications will be greatly improved because of faster coordination rather than relying on old-skool technologies.

Why is NBN-ZTE contract very controversial?

Speculations are running wild on this contract but the question is: Who started this controversy?

The son of a prominent political figure, Jose de Venecia III (son of Jose de Venecia Jr) sparked the heat for he was allegedly bribed and threatened by COMELEC Chairman Benjamin Abalos, to drop the bid of de Venecia’s company, AHI, to the contract. To sum it up, the three contenders for the NBN deal were:

US-based Arescom – $135 million
Amsterdam Holdings Inc (AHI) – $240 million
ZTE – $329.5 million

Even FG Mike Arroyo was pointed to be the “Mystery Man” involved in the said deal. Apparently, the contract was awarded to the Chinese firm, ZTE. Hence, the NBN-ZTE Contract Controversy.

Will Filipinos benefit from this project?

I do not know. This project has been kept away from public since the day of its conception so I do not think that this project was conceived because we need to “improve the Philippine ICT” or “make the government employees more efficient”. I say that my heart was broken to see that my fellow Filipinos take advantage of their kapwa Pilipino.

I am not surprised why foreign countries take advantage of the Filipinos in so many ways. It is because we teach them that we can take and be taken advantage of.

On the technical side, Filipinos are not yet ready for this kind of technology. I mean, how many Filipinos know how to use a computer or even a fax machine? I do not mean to belittle my fellowmen but if we cannot put landline phones and decent cellphone signals in rural parts of the countries, how will we handle much sophisticated technologies such as VOIP, LAN and WAN?

What can we do about this?

I think not too much. This is up to the government how to deal with this since it was “them” who messed it up in the first place. However, this got me thinking how much the Philippine government is so screwed. I know the Philippine government is already FUBAR, but could they be at least be discreet on doing their dirty deeds? Geez. (I hope I won’t get imprisoned for this).

Being a member of the ICT, I strongly believe that this project can be done by us Filipinos with what we have, and not to rely on foreign “assistance”. The problem however, is the lack of self-confidence that this can be done if only people will put their personal interests behind and put first the interest of the greater good. This may be too much for something that has always been the same for the last century (or millennium), but politicians should watch Evan Almighty, where God said that if we want to change the world, we only need one thing: ARK – Acts of Random Kindness.

If you want to know more about this topic on techie’s POV. go to http://www.cp-union.org/cms/. You can also petition to scrap the NBN-ZTE contract by going to the same website.

3 Comments to “NBN-ZTE Contract: What A Tiny Penguin Has To Say”

Cyberbaguioboy September 27, 2007 at 1:35 am
It nice to see that you’re taking interest in the issue.

Just a few points I want to raise: Filipinos need broadband not because they want VoIP or something else you can now offer because you have broadband. You might be surprise that Filipinos who don’t own PCs use VoIP. They just don’t know that it is called that.

The idea of connecting all governments into one giant network is an old idea first proposed in Congress way back in the early 1990s. If you still remember the days when the term “RPWeb” was being espoused by then Catanduanes Rep. Leandro Verceles. Then later, the e-commerce mandated that government should create this network. The idea is not only limited to connecting agencies and providing them better telecom service. The idea extends to providing universal access to the public, which simply means even those you identify as non-PC users will have access to technology–whatever this is is still debateable. What’s the most common high-tech access device most Filipinos have today? Di ba, cellphone? Now, imagine that being used for governance.

What can you do about it? A lot. Blog about it. Discuss it with your friends. Find out the real story. Read the news. And make your own conclusion. Because if we keep quiet, then you and I will be paying billions of pesos for a project that might turn out as another dud because wala tayong ginawa.

just my two cents.
Global Voices Online » Philippines: Corruption scandal reaches the presidential palace September 28, 2007 at 5:22 am
[...] weblog believes the project can be accomplished without foreign assistance. Agham insists that the project should not be pursued by the private [...]
Billy Goldstein October 25, 2009 at 9:40 am
Wow, great blog. I love reading blogs about VoIP! It’s such an exciting technology. I have learned a lot in implementing a small VoIP network at home, and am thinking of starting VoIP business in my area. There are a number of small businesses in my region that would benefit from it greatly. Thanks again for this blog – it is really well-done.