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RP Cyber Corridor fast gaining grounds (second of five parts special report)MANILA, Jun 28, 2009 (Asia Pulse Data Source via COMTEX) -- ?Fifteen years ago, a professor from De La Salle University (DLSU) wondered about the future state of the Philippine telecommunication technology. "Hey, sir! Do you know that pretty soon, every nook and cranny in the country will be wired or have those wireless gizmos?" says Dr. Ben Teehankee during an interview in 1994. "And do you know that every office, every school, every person and every thing will be in what you may call information highway or the Internet or cyber space?" thus says Teehankee, then dean of student affairs of DLSU. True enough, a couple of years later, the Philippines went crazy over cyberspace and the rest is history. Today, the Arroyo administration is closely monitoring the developments in the Philippine Cyber Corridor. It is looked after by the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT) Cyber Corridor Task Force. Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Undersecretary Lorelei Fajardo said the Philippine Cyber Corridor has done a lot for every Filipinos. It is involved in offshoring and outsourcing operations, Community e-Center (CEC) program, Local Government Unit (LGU) web, Voice Over Internet Protocol, and adopted 3G or Third Generation Mobile Communications Sytem. Fajardo said Offshoring and outsourcing operations have created 18 new wave cities in the country. They are Metro Manila, Bacolod, Bacoor, Baguio City, Batangas City, Cabanatuan City, Cagayan de Oro City, Cainta in Rizal province, Camarines Sur, Cebu City, Clark Export Zone in Angeles City in Pampanga, Dumaguete City, Iloilo City, Lipa City, San Fernando City in Pampanga, and Sta. Rosa City in Laguna. <"The LGU web and CEC program have a e-LGU Applications Systems, Electronic Real Property Tax System (eBPLS)," Fajardo said adding that cyber links every city halls, every municipalities and every barangay (village) halls to cyber space making all official transmissions of transactions electronically updated. This is already experienced at the Quezon City Hall, the Bureau of Internal Revenue and key government offices nationwide. Fajardo said the VOIP is an application that digitizes and transmits voice communications via the internet. "It provides a viable, efficient, reliable and universal telecommunications infrastructure for areas not yet served by the traditional telephone services. Major commercial telecommunications service providers today offer the 3G or Third Generation Mobile Communications System. The 3G offers higher data transmission speed as well as other advanced data, video, and multimedia services, Fajardo said. The Philippine Cyber Corridor Fajardo said the Cyber Corridor is an area that encompasses centers of technology and learning running the length of country. It is an ICT channel that runs over 600 miles across the country, from Baguio City in the north to Zamboanga down south of the archipelago. It is supported by a billion high bandwidth fiber back-bone and digital network. "The Philippine Government envisions the Cyber Corridor as a home to numerous cyberservice providers that supply expert services in various fields such as contact centers, animation, medical and legal transcription, online marketing, software development, e-learning, e-entertainment and gaming, and other back office operations," Fajardo told the PNA. The Cyber Corridor should hopefully satisfy the need of BPO locators who are continuously seeking places where to establish their businesses. The increasing demand of more practical and feasible outsourcing sites outside major cities fueled the growth of IT centers in the countryside. Smaller cities like Sta. Rosa, Legaspi, Naga Tagbilaran, Tacloban, Dumaguete, and Bacolod are currently play hosts to some of the biggest BPO companies in the country. Iloilo City has also emerged as an IT power in the Visayas region with the establishment of IT companies like, AOV Outsourcing service. The availability of quality workforce, abundant telecommunications facilities, sound business and incentives package from the local governments in these cities entice BPO countries to tap the Philippine BPO industry. Fajardo said the government was dedicated to the continuing growth of the Philippine Cyber Corridor. Now that the country ranks among top off-shoring hubs in the world, the government is devoting funds to create highly trainable, English proficient, IT-enabled management and manpower, she said. In return, the BPO industry generates employment and revenues for government coffers. The Offshore and Outsource Operations Fajardo said the Philippine Cyber Corridor is an initiative being pursued by the Philippine Government to create interconnected centers of business process outsourcing (BPO) services all over the country. These services include call center, back office, software development, medical transcription, legal transcription, engineering design and animation. It is part of the ten-point agenda of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and is one of the five super regions she established to spur economic development. Executive Order No. 561, signed by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on August 19, 2006, divided the Philippines into five economic super regions, namely, the Northern Luzon Agribusiness Quadrangle; Luzon Urban Beltway; Central Philippines; Agribusiness Mindanao; and Cyber Corridor. The Cyber Corridor traverses the other super regions from Baguio to Cebu to Davao . Its development theme is information and communications technology (ICT) and knowledge economy. Metro Manila is the center of the Philippine BPO industry and is considered one of the top offshoring destinations in the world. Outside of Metro Manila, 25 "Next Wave Cities" have been identified as viable locations for BPO operations and included in the Cyber Corridor. They are Bacolod City, Negros Occidental; Bacoor, Cavite; Baguio City, Benguet; Batangas City, Batangas; Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija; Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis Oriental; Cainta, Rizal; Cebu City, Cebu; City of San Fernando, Pampanga; Clark Freeport Zone, Angeles City, Pampanga; Dagupan City, Pangasinan; Davao City; Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental; General Santos City, South Cotabato; Iloilo City, Iloilo; Legazpi City, Albay; Tacloban City, Leyte; Lipa City, Batangas; Naga City, Camarines Sur; Santa Rosa City, Laguna; Subic Bay Freeport Zone, Olongapo City, Zambales; Tagbilaran City, Bohol; Tuguegarao City, Cagayan; Urdaneta City, Pangasinan; and Zamboanga City, Zamboanga. The CICT chairman was tasked to lead the development cf the Cyber Corridor. As the development champion of the Cyber Corridor Superregion, the CICT has been directed to oversee all programs and projects related to activities being implemented in the Corridor. Aligned with this, the CICT is tasked to ensure the competitiveness of the ICT industry, develop human capital, advocacy for universal access/service, and promote the use of ICT in government. The CICT intends to conduct a Cyber Corridor Roadshow in the Top 10 NWC within the Corridor. These top 10 NWCs were determined on the basis of an industry scorecard published in the BPAP Industry Roadmap 2010. These cities include: Metro Laguna, Metro Cavite, Iloilo, Davao, Bacolod, Pampanga Central, Bulacan Central, Cagayan de Oro, Bulacan South and Lipa. The Roadshow aims to showcase all CICT initiatives as a means to operationalize the directions set for this Superregion. The Roadshow, with the over-all theme of ?Empowering the Filipino through ICT,? is aimed at pursuing objectives according to the CICT?s four strategic areas, namely: Cyberservices, Human Capital Development, eGovernment Development, and ICT Infrastructure. The Philippine Cyber corridor from Baguio through Cebu to Davao runs along a digital backbone and carries ITC services to every municipality. President Arroyo pointed out that when the government launched its digital highway program in 2001, less than 2,000 Filipinos were employed in call centers. "Today, over 200,000 are employed in business processing outsourcing (BPOs) and we expect this figure to grow over one million by the end of this decade," the President said. The Philippines is now recognized as the second most preferred location for BPO operations after India , while whole semi-conductors export is on track to increase by 10 percent annually. The President also thanked Congress for the enactment of the bill promoting the use of internet protocol that will dramatically cut down the cost of telephone calls across continents and "bring Filipinos closer to their loved ones." President Arroyo vowed that every step would be taken to harness the force of ICT to lift the quality of Philippine education and build a brighter future for the Filipinos. One of the proponents of the Arroyo Administration's ICT program in education is Presidential Assistant for Education Secretary Mona Dumlaon-Valisno. Mrs. Arroyo said the Department of Education (DepEd) and the CICT are crafting a national ICT program for teachers, or the National ICT Competency Standard for teachers to be implemented in all public high schools. Fajardo said majority of the public high school teachers should fulfill the requirements of the ICT standard by 2010. Central Luzon Cyber Corridor The Central Luzon Cyber Corridor, one of five Super Regions envisioned by President Arroyo under her country-wide development scheme, continuously grows by leaps and bounds and is proving to be an oasis of hope for many Filipinos feeling the crunch of the deepening global economic meltdown. In a presentation during the 26th Cabinet meeting at the Cyber City Teleservices (CCT) main office in Pampanga, CICT chairman Ray Anthony Chua said that the BPO industry generated 372,000 jobs and US$ 6.1 billion revenue last year. The industry hopes to employ one million workers and generate US$ 13 billion annual revenue by 2010.[ "And despite the global financial crisis, we still expect the industry to grow this year," he added as Chua pointed out that with the continued support of government, he expected jobs in the IT industry, particularly the business process outsourcing (IT-BPO) sector to grow by 20 to 25 percent or generate 80,000 to 90,000 jobs this year. "The IT-BPO industry has been growing continuously in the last several years because in general, the trend towards outsourcing is growing globally. In addition, the Philippines has really made a name for itself, Chua said. "Our reputation is becoming more and more enhanced around the world," Chua noted in the press statement. Among the initiatives CICT is currently undertaking to ensure the continued growth of the IT-BPO industry sector include the provision of subsidies for training, similar to what the President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo scholarships do for potential recruits in the IT-BPO sector, and starting a career caravan that will help promote IT-BPO opportunities around the country. The CICT has identified the "10 next wave cities" that are fertile grounds for IT-BPO expansion. Aside from the Cyber Corridor, which is home to numerous cyberservice providers that supply expert services in various ICT fields like BPO, contact centers, animation, medical and legal transcription, software development, e-learning, e-entertainment and gaming and other back office operations (e.g. finance and accounting, human resource development, etc.), the other Super Regions are Central Philippines, Luzon Urban Beltway, Mindanao and the North Luzon Agribusiness Quadrangle. Central Philippines is also envisioned as a premier tourist destination on account of its unique natural wonders: long white beaches, rich coastal and marine resources, vast forest reserves and diverse ecosystems, varied ethnic cultures and historical landmarks, and warm and friendly people. (PNA) |