Ciena International (Ciena), a networking and software company, believes that the Philippines needs a multi-faceted approach combining innovation, collaboration, and a commitment to social responsibility to achieve robust internet accessibility.
In an email interview with Back End News, Jamie Jefferies, VP and GM at Ciena International, underscored the efforts of the country’s network providers in bringing in new connectivity applications and building infrastructure to unlock the potential of 5G technology.
While 5G has been in use for quite some time, the technology hasn’t been fully maximized, and use cases may not have been as advanced as they should have been.
“4G monetization improved a few years ago when the uptick of high-resolution videos, bigger-size file sharing, and applications suddenly took precedence in our everyday lives,” said Jefferies. “It is difficult to know exactly when 5G monetization will become the norm, but it will take time as new and emerging 5G-centric applications are adopted by the masses.”
Challenges
Being an archipelago is perhaps one of the factors that is preventing the technology from being utilized extensively. Then there are the mountainous regions, which make infrastructure development and maintenance difficult and costly, especially in remote areas.
Then there is the issue of affordability. It is undeniable that the country is now well-connected as proven during the lockdowns caused by the pandemic. But connection issues persisted, and it is costly for low-income households, particularly those that live in rural and remote areas, to have at least a decent internet connection.
“Affordability targets are rapidly becoming outdated in an era where demand for data-intensive applications is growing,” Jefferies said. “In today’s digital-first world, it is not enough to simply have access to the internet or a device. What we need to bridge the digital divide is universal, reliable, and affordable high-speed connectivity that can support increasing bandwidth demands.”
Jefferies highlighted that this is critical to ensuring the nationwide digital participation that is needed for the Philippines to achieve meaningful progress.
To address the issue of expensive and inaccessible internet accessibility, Jefferies said the entire telecommunications ecosystem is working toward improving infrastructure in underserved areas by investing in the expansion of broadband coverage to rural and remote locations, where connectivity is often sparse or non-existent.
“By leveraging technologies like satellite internet or wireless broadband, network providers are extending their reach to areas where traditional wired infrastructure is impractical or costly to deploy,” he said.
Innovation is one of the key factors that would ensure network operators can deliver bandwidth demands by the ever-increasing appetite for connectivity.
Apart from developing energy-efficient products, the communications ecosystem can explore innovative pricing models and subsidy programs to make internet services more affordable for low-income households.
“This could include providing subsidized devices such as smartphones or tablets or partnering with government agencies and non-profit organizations to implement targeted assistance programs for those in need,” Jefferies noted.
Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer a luxury that any industry can do without but a necessity as it has become a race to adopt this technology. At the MWC, Jefferies related that network operators discussed how to unleash AI’s potential in their networks and services.
“From a network standpoint, AI is expected to drive a multi-fold increase in demand for bandwidth and network performance,” he said. “And it is redefining how data centers will be designed and operated.”
While most conversations now are about developing the most intelligent applications, there will come a time when organizations, especially data center operators, will soon race “from who can train AI models the fastest to who can connect these giant machines to the outside world.”
“Traffic patterns are going to change as inference will drive edge computing on the back of limited space and power in the central data centers,” Jefferies said. “While we absolutely expect bandwidth demand to grow, it will come in different shapes in different parts of the network.”
With AI, operators can no longer afford to have downtime or inadequate capacity. Soon, networks will be more adaptive and will utilize programmability, analytics, software control, and automation.
AI is a major game-changer for the telecom sector, offering a wide range of benefits, from strengthening the resilience of mobile networks to revolutionizing customer support services and facilitating personalized offerings.