Probe 'slow, expensive' internet in Phl - Bam Aquino

MANILA, Philippines — Senator Bam Aquino is calling for an investigation to find out why other Southeast Asian nations enjoy faster and cheaper Internet speed while the Philippines bear the brunt of slow connection.

The neophyte lawmaker made his call after the local media reported that the Philippines is among the countries with the slowest internet connection in the region.

The reports cited an infographic from ASEAN DNA, which claimed that the Philippines (3.6 megabytes per second) lags behind Laos (4.0 Mbps), Indonesia (4.1 Mbps), Myanmar and Brunei (4.9 Mbps), Malaysia (5.5 Mbps) and Cambodia (5.7 Mbps).

Other countries mentioned in the report include Vietnam (13.1) and Thailand (17.7), the only two other Southeast Asian countries joining Singapore (61.0) as those above the regional average of 12.4 Mbps.

Aquino said he wants to determine if Filipino consumers are indeed getting their money's worth from Internet service being provided by local telecommunication companies.

"There are constant complaints about the provider's failure to deliver on its promised connection speed, which usually leads to slow Internet link," he said.

The senator pointed out that on the average, local consumers spend around P1,000 a month for Internet service with speeds of up to two megabytes per second (MBPS) or about P2,000 for up to five MBPS.

But in Singapore, Aquino said the largest telecommunications company offers 15 Mbps of Internet speed for 36.90 Singapore dollars or around P1,312 a month. In Thailand, 799 baht or P1,100 could give consumers 12 Mbps of connection.

"This is expensive compared to Singapore and Thailand where we can find some of the fastest Internet connections in the world," Aquino said.

He added that the Senate probe should find ways on how to improve the country's poor Internet connection.

"Do we always have to pay a steep price for slow and sometimes unreliable Internet connection? [The National Telecommunications Commission] should provide a logical and clear explanation on this," Aquino said.