Dave Achondo WE all hate slow Internet connections because it delays work and personal activities that are done through the use of e-mails and social media sites. In Cagayan de Oro, we have a long list of complains we’d like to point out to our Internet service providers (ISPs). Your service is slow and sometimes even lacking, and it takes a very long time to address even the simpliest issues. How can they address the problem when our calls to their hotlines that came with the brochures are being answered by call center agents? Why don’t they answer their own calls? It seems like nothing of what we complain about is getting through to them. The funny thing is that when the government started knocking at their doors to speed up their services, amazingly they did, and I think they were threatened at some point that some big shot company outside the Philippines would take it as an opportunity to penetrate the market. However, we can’t blame the telecommunications companies entirely for the slow Internet speed we are currently going through because other factors also play a part such as weather, tower traffic, and the lack of cell sites among others. The telcos are having problems in building new cell sites to address the problem on congestion in their systems. They blame the local governments--some local governments have a very long list of requirements before they can proceed on building cell sites. Here, according to Councilor Teodulfo Lao Jr., the requirements for one is about 24. Telcos lauded this city’s initiative to study ways on how to lessen the requirements which other major cities have yet to tackle. Adding that with the changes they can resolve the issue faster. The city council’s committee on public utilities chaired by Lao is looking into ways to cut the red tape in the issuance of social acceptability endorsements of telecommunication companies for the construction, operation and maintenance of base stations of cellular mobile phone service, and other wireless communication purposes, as provided for in Ordinance No. 9119-2004. Lao said they have already started studying how to lessen the requirements for telcos in order for them to build new cell sites to address this city’s growing demand for a better and faster Internet connection. “Nagsugod na kita og public consultations on amendments on Ordinance No. 9119-2004 regarding sa permits kay hinay gyud ang atong signal kay kulang atong cell sites in the city proper and hinterland barangays,” Lao said. This is good news for all of us who are still stuck with snail-like Internet speed. As far as I know, the only users of 100 mbps speeds are Internet cafes, and the purpose isn’t for browsing but for gaming. However, a faster Internet speed doesn’t solve the issue. What’s the point in having 200 mbps or more if the connection gets disconnected without any notice. Consumers also need a reliable Internet connection, one that doesn’t fluctuate resulting in a temporary yet annoying lost of connection.