Philippines: Internet of Things


By: Joseph Seabra
The idea of smart homes, Cities or grids has reached the Philippines though this technology has not yet been implemented within the country. There is a limited number of sources that show that there are a few companies that are trying to spread these technologies in the Philippines, though the validity and quality of those companies had to be taken into consideration with further research. The reasoning as to why this technology has not become prominent in the Philippines can be attributed to two major factors; those being the countries leaders who hold most of the financial power, and the low income of most citizens in the Philippines.
The Philippines has been criticized for years for having a current government system in place that holds most of the financial power in the country. Due to this the countries infrastructural and technological growth has been limited to within the country. This has meant that many companies that have there beginning outside of the company have faced restrictions and barriers from entering the technology market of the Philippines. This also means that companies such as Nest, Amazon, and Philips which are the three largest companies within the Smart Home market would also face barriers to spreading this technology within the country (Clarke, 2018).
A second major factor that could be a reason that this technology has not been able to spread within the Philippines could be the average income of people in the Philippines. As mentioned in previous papers the Philippines is still very much a developing nation trying to grow its infrastructure after its separation form the United States as a colony. Due to this the average income in the Philippines is quite low compared to many 1st world economies with the average monthly income in the Philippines being approximately 10,500 PHP (2019).  This is equivalent to around 200 United States dollars as of the drafting of this document. So, with Smart Homes costing 100’s of thousands of dollars it becomes evident as to why these homes have not become part of the technology market in the Philippines.
            If these systems of integrated technology were to be introduced within the Philippines it is more than likely that they would not be able to successfully establish themselves without government initiatives. The Philippines is actively trying to increase and develop its infrastructural growth, and if the government was to back this technology within the growth of its cities it might spread in its influence within the country. Integrated technologies such as smart homes, smart cities, and smart grids are systems that within the near future will be extremely helpful for many developed countries. However, with a country such as the Philippines that faces uneven distribution of wealth, it can be assumed that this technology cannot be successfully established.



References
Clarke, L. (2018). The biggest smart home companies and what they offer. In computerworld.com. Retrieved October 19, 2019, from https://www.computerworld.com/article/3412217/the-biggest-smart-home-companies-and-what-they-offer.html#slide3

(2019). Philippines Average Nominal Wages. In TradingEconomics.com. Retrieved October 19, 2019, from https://tradingeconomics.com/philippines/wages




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