Philippine Internet is fast: We just cannot afford it

It has always been the standard feedback by any subscriber that Internet in the Philippines is slow. This is supported by several studies and publicly available information from the likes of Akamai and Ookla which are often cited in news reports.

The latest report from Akamai puts average Internet speed in the Philippines at 3.5Mbps as of the first quarter of 2016. This pales in comparison to figures from our neighboring countries like Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea where speeds are blazing fast.

Let’s take a step back and define the “Internet” in this context. There are actually two modes when we talk of Internet connectivity – one is mobile Internet, which we would normally refer to as 3G, 4G or LTE; the second one is wired Internet, which is normally delivered via DSL using legacy copper lines, cable Internet and fiber connections.

What I’d like to focus on in this article is the second mode, which is the wired connection.

If you look at broadband plans of Internet providers, most still offer 2Mbps or 3Mbps speeds at P999 to P1,299 a month.

In a third world country where the purchasing power of the working class is much lower than that of most other Asians, it follows that new subscribers tend to be able to afford just the base plan.

Since the majority of broadband subscribers only get plans that offer 2Mbps or 3Mbps connections, it’s no wonder that average Internet speeds are within the vicinity of what these broadband plans offer.

However, for several years now, a number of ISPs have already been offering fiber Internet. They started offering 20Mbps, 50Mbps to 100Mbps connections. Recently, the broadband plans even reached 1Gbps.

However, not all areas have fiber coverage already and the first ones to get them are naturally the more affluent subdivisions and condominiums.

Lately, though, I’ve been getting feedback from a number of friends and colleagues that they are able to get fiber Internet in suburban Valenzuela or Taytay, Rizal.

My old apartment in Bangkal, Makati is also getting fiber this month (along Evangelista St., and up to 250 meters from the main line). I’m fortunate to get up to 20Mbps for about P1,500 a month in that area (via Converge).

However, even if most people want faster Internet, it’s just not available in their area. And, even if fiber Internet is available, most people cannot afford to spend P3,000 to P10,000 for 50Mbps to 1Gbps connections.

In reality, we already have very fast Internet in the Philippines. It’s just that most subscribers cannot afford it.

The best and fastest way to take the Philippines out of the “slowest Internet in the world” title is for ISPs to basically upgrade every subscriber who is on 2Mbps and just give them at least 20Mbps for the same basic fee of P999. That alone would catapult the Philippines to the ranks of countries with Top 10 Fastest Internet in the World.

That’s just a suggestion.

In a way, there are grounds for people to say that more competition will give us better or faster Internet in the Philippines. A new player can come in and offer 20Mbps at P999 and compel existing players to follow suit.

In fact, any of the existing Internet service providers might just go crazy and offer these speeds at base prices and we’ll see everyone else doing the same in less than a year.