Filipinos Pay More For Slow Internet Services – World Bank

Filipinos are paying one of the most expensive, but slowest Internet services in the world, a joint study by the World Bank and the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) revealed.

- Chino S. Leyco

Based on the “A Better Normal Under COVID-19: Digitalizing the Philippine Economy Now” report, the Philippines lags behind neighboring middle-income nations in terms of two key indicators pertaining to Internet services.

According to the report, 57 percent of Filipino households, or 12.2 million families, are still not connected to the Internet, while those who have access experience slow download speeds.

The average mobile broadband download speed in the country is only 16.76 megabytes per second (mbps), well below the global average of 32.01 mbps. Its 3G/4G mobile average download speed of 7 mbps is also behind the ASEAN average of 13.26 mbps.

In terms of prices, the cost of a fixed broadband plan in the Philippines is close to the cost of similar plans in Singapore and Thailand, or countries which have the fastest speeds in the region.

For prepaid, handset-based mobile broadband, a 500 megabyte Internet service is costing $6.3 a month in the Philippines, the fourth-highest in ASEAN after Singapore, Brunei, and Malaysia.