Working from home exposes PH’s digital shortcomings

INTERNET connectivity has long been a vital thread in the Philippine social fabric, but under the conditions of the enhanced community quarantine in Luzon and many other areas of the country, it has literally become a key to survival for a vast segment of the public and the business sector.

To no one’s surprise, unfortunately, two weeks of lockdown conditions have begun to expose the shortcomings in the country’s telecommunications (telecom) infrastructure, making it increasingly difficult for businesses and individuals to stay productive and connected in these difficult times. Worse still, our unavoidably isolated conditions have deepened social and economic divisions, further marginalizing the poor by rendering them almost completely incapable of communicating with the outside world.