Work from home law’s success up to telcos
Credit to Author: The Manila Times| Date: Sun, 13 Jan 2019 16:21:46 +0000
The success of the Telecommunicating Act, or the law allowing private workers to work from home, lies in telecommunications companies’ capacity to provide quality services.
“The ball is now on the telcos’ court to gear up for the possible increase of demand for faster and more reliable internet connection,” Department of Information and Communication Technology (DICT) Acting Secretary Eliseo M. Rio said in a statement over the weekend.
In the first half of 2018, Ookla said the Philippine Long Distance Telephone, Co. (PLDT) posted average speeds reaching 22.84 megabits per second (Mbps) for download and 23.45 Mbps for upload. Globe, meanwhile, only posted 10 mbps and 4.67 Mbps for download and upload, respectively.
New major player Mislatel is also committed to provide internet speed of 27 Mbps in the first year and 55 Mbps starting from the second year.
The work from home bill was signed into law last December 20, a copy of the document released by the Palace last Thursday showed. The law, which will take effect 15 days following its publication, mandates the private sector to ensure that employees on work-from-home arrangements will still enjoy the same benefits of those employees working in traditional workplaces. Private employees need telecommunications and computer technology to work either from home or any alternative workplace.
“It is high time to adopt policies that promote ICT solutions to our daily problems such as traffic, and the telcos must embrace their role in these initiatives and see it as opportunities,” Rio said.
With this law, the government also hopes to address traffic woes. Last year , the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) said the Philippine economy has been suffering from traffic congestion, losing around P3.5 billion daily. It also saw the number rising to P5.4 billion by 2035. Lisbet K. Esmael
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