House inquiry on slow Internet connection sought

MANILA, Philippines - A lawmaker called on the House of Representatives Committee on Information and Communication Technology to conduct an inquiry on the relatively slow Internet connection in the country.

Las Piñas Rep. Mark Villar filed House Resolution 1658 to improve the Philippines' poor connection and make it at par with neighboring countries in Asia.

"There is a need to address this alarming and poor state of Internet service in the country as it impacts on consumer welfare [productivity, right to information and ultimately on our economy," Villar said.

The Las Piñas cited a report from major US-based provider Akamai that the Philippines has an average speed of 2.1 megabits per second (Mbps).

Another internet metric firm, Ookia, showed that the country's connection has an average speed of 3.55 Mbps.

Based on average speeds, the Philippines lags behind its neighboring countries in Southeast Asia.

Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam have data connections above the regional average of 12.4 Mbps.

"There is an urgent need to enhance effective competition in the telecommunications industry in order to promote the state policy of providing the environment for the emergence of communications structures suitable to the balanced flow of information," Villar said.

Filipinos spend around P1,000 a month for Internet service with speeds of up to 2 Mbps or about P2,000 for up to five Mbps, Villar said.

In Singapore, the largest telecommunications companies offer up to 15 Mbps of internet speed for 36.90 dollars or around P1,312 a month, according to a study.

The study also showed that consumers in Thailand spend 799 baht or around P1,100 for up to 12 Mbps of Internet connection.

The Department of Justice earlier warned telecommunications companies in the country not to deceive local consumers with "unlimited" internet services.

RELATED: DOJ: 'Unli' means unli

For more proposed measures in the House of Representatives, visit our Bill Tracker.