The cost of broadband internet service has become more affordable in the Philippines than it was a couple of years back. It consequently led to more Filipinos getting inexpensive unlimited access to the web.
Every day, more and more people use Facebook, Twitter and Myspace to communicate and share experiences over the internet. Indeed, Filipinos are a part of its rampant growth and its relevant use in education, business and social networking. Evident to which is our large percentage share over the total number of Internet users among Asians and other races.
But what if usage based billing will also be introduced in the Philippines? What could be its significant effect to Filipino internet users? Will the market adjust? Or should the consumers be just ready to pay what they called, “by the gigabytes.”
Usage based billing is a system, now being implemented in some First World countries, which allows companies to charge internet users an extra amount for any data used beyond a certain limit. The charge, of course, is on top of what they need to pay for the broadband access.
In a country like the Philippines where people do a lot of internet stuff (watching videos, online games, application downloads), limiting the web usage would definitely start a great debate. Not that unlimited access might be inexistent, but the Filipinos will surely see a significant increase of internet service charges ever since broadband companies started operating.
In Canada, for example, usage based billing has been a major issue for the past few months. According to Mark Evans, a columnist of Globe and Mail, the usage system will affect small internet companies in Canada and its users who are currently enjoying unlimited access at a very reasonable price. On the other hand, major internet providers such as Bell, Rogers Communications and Telus will be of a greater advantage once the system is implemented for it will surely pave the way for fair competition since they have already introduced bandwidth caps way back in 2009.
So the question is, will Filipinos more likely to see the introduction of usage based billing in the next few years?
Internet caps implementation in other countries is the result of the higher demand for the service over the last decade. Hugh Thompson, publisher of Digital Home, wrote “Research papers from the University of Minnesota Internet Traffic Studies and Cisco Systems estimate that monthly Internet traffic in North America has grown by an astounding 40 to 50 per cent per year in the last decade. In a report released last year, Cisco predicted Internet traffic would quadruple between 2009 and 2014, a compound annual growth rate of 34 per cent.”
Obviously, like what is happening in the other side of the globe, the growth rate of internet usage in the Philippines is rapidly climbing up. If an average Filipino would download an MP3 song four or five years ago, now he/she would more likely upload pictures at Facebook as twice as much, watch HD videos in Youtube, share tweets in Twitter like there’s no tomorrow or probably be addicted on an online game every other kid in the town is playing.
If the rise on internet usage and demand would triple, network congestion resulting to inconsistent upload and download speeds will definitely be an issue- and that’s when usage based billing will come in. The Philippines might then see restrictions or limits on our broadband access or if not, pay more as you use more.
Imagine you are using Smart Bro or Sun Broadband and these companies tell you that for the P999 monthly charge you’re not allowed unlimited access anymore but instead will be given a 200GB limit and for every gigabyte you will exceed, you will have to pay P20 to site an example.
It may be strange but it is happening. What are the possibilities? Huge. So we shouldn’t wonder if we will start to see metered internet cafes in the near future.
The internet has made it possible for us to communicate, to learn, to socialize and to have fun. Restrictions on what used to be unlimited broadband access will surely defy cost-effectivity and our usage on the internet might see a dramatic decrease.
Keeping our fingers crossed, let us hope that technology itself can appease the impending problem the usage based billing might bring. If the cost of data transfer would be more inexpensive for the broadband companies by investing in more reliable and advanced networks, then the issue concerning bandwidth limits can be removed as easy as ABC’s.
Let us not allow the usage system be a hindrance to online education, small entrepreneurship, banking, entertainment, news, etc. The World Wide Web provided us a convenient way of living and has become a need in the era of information technology.
The idea of usage based billing will definitely be of public concern. It may or may not be implemented in the Philippines, but what will remain is the fact that the internet has started to become a utility in everyday living and if it’s gone or become limited, the effects will be painfully obvious.
