TV White Space tech to be used for health care access in PHL provinces

In an effort to achieve universal healthcare in the Philippines, TV White Space Technology or “Super Wifi” will be provided by the Department of Science and Technology Information and Communication Technology Office (DOST-ICTO) in far-flung areas where connectivity or internet connection is not available, starting with the municipalities of Talibon and Tubigon in Bohol.

 

This is part of the eHealth plan, a joint effort of the DOST and the Department of Health (DOH) to achieve universal health care in the country through electronic means.

 

“Since eHealth banks heavily on internet connectivity, and the DOST Information and Communication Technology Office offers the TV White Space Technology as a cost-effective way to be able to address the underserved or unserved in terms of connectivity,” said DOST Secretary Mario Montejo during the First eHealth Summit held on Tuesday.

 

According to DOST-ICTO, the long range of TV White Space means that less base stations are required to provide coverage for a given area compared to existing wireless technologies. This makes it an extremely cost effective means for internet/data delivery and quick deployment of such.

 

Deployment

 

“By the end of February, we're going to have 100 sites using the TV White Space Technology as a test site run in Bohol, specifically in Ubay, Tubigon, and Talibon,” said Bettina Quimson, Assistant Secretary for Society in the DOST-ICTO. These areas were both hit by Typhoon Yolanda and the Bohol quake.

 

“We're actually rolling this out slowly. It's a new technology and there are some policies that need to be addressed specific to this because we're using the unused spectrum of the broadcasters on TV and TV White space,” Quimson said.

 

TVWS, however, is not limited to health care. The technology will also be used to connect local government units (LGUs) and national agencies, hospitals and health centers, and educational facilities.

 

“We will be connecting the health centers, educational facilitities, LGUs, as well as fisherfolk on this particular technology. We will be expanding this throughout the year.”

 

TVWS was pilot-tested in the Ecosystems Improved for Sustainable Fisheries (ECOFISH) project in Talibon and Tubigon, Bohol for reef and fishing vessel.

 

“Within a few days lang po (after Yolanda), we were able to deploy and use this technology to actually connect the national agencies from Tacloban, Leyte into their offices here in Manila,” Quimson said.

 

“As of right now, it's being done in Palo (Leyte) and Palawan areas and we're going to do some as well in Samar.”

 

The technology

 

TV White Space (TVWS) refers to the unused radio frequencies between broadcast TV channels in the very high frequency (VHF) and ultra high frequency (UHF) range located between 54 MHz and 806 MHz.

 

ICTO also claims that currently available TVWS equipment can deliver up to 6 mbps of data throughput at a maximum range of 10 km.

 

“It is meant to complement telcos,” Montejo said in a press conference.

 

One of the eHealth projects that will be connected by TVWS is the deployment of RxBox units. RxBox is a DOST-developed telehealth device that enable remote consultations between patients, community health workers, and experts in urban areas. It gathers medical information of the patients, stores them, and process them at the community level.

 

RxBox units are already deployed in 20 areas around the country. Those deployed in far-flung areas are provided telemedicine support through email and SMS, said Dr. Kristine Magtubo, Project Manager of RxBox, University of the Philippines Manila National Telehealth Center. Tubigon, Bohol is the only area where RxBox and TV White Space integration is being tested. — TJD, GMA News