PH internet speed improved – DICT

BY JHON ALDRIN CASINAS

The Philippines climbed up to 86th in the global mobile internet speed rankings last January, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) said Saturday.

Citing a report from internet performance metrics provider Ookla, the DICT said the country moved up to 86th from 111th in the same period in 2020.

Ookla’s latest report showed that the country logged an average mobile download speed of 25.77 Mbps (megabits per second), and an average mobile upload speed of 6.29 Mbps.

The country has also retained its 100th ranking in the fixed broadband global average category, with an average of 32.73 Mbps download speed recorded.

“Additionally, compared to December 2020, the Ookla January 2021 results witnessed a 4.10 percent increase from 31.44 Mbps (fixed broadband), and 14.53 percent from 22.50 Mbps (mobile),” the DICT said.

Ookla’s internet performance analysis covers 140 countries.

According to the DICT, the government has been “closely monitoring” the performance of telecommunications companies in the country following President Duterte’s mandate to advance improvements in telco services to ensure that the country’s internet performance could keep up with neighboring countries.

“Moreover, the government had been providing assistance to telcos in their infrastructure buildup by expediting the approval of tower permits as a measure to improve Internet services amid the ongoing pandemic,” it said.

DICT Secretary Gregorio B. Honasan II said the department will continue to coordinate with the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to help ensure that the telcos roll-out plans are complied with in a timely manner.

“Our vision of digital transformation shall be realized if all Filipinos, regardless of who they are and where they are in the country, have quality access to Internet connectivity services at affordable prices,” Honasan said.

The DICT and NTC are conducting bi-monthly meetings with telcos to check on the status of their network roll-out plans, and to address problems that may cause lags in its implementation.