(Eagle News) – Malacanang is very much dismayed that the country’s internet speed remains slow despite the deadline given by President Rodrigo Duterte that it has lagged behind many of its ASEAN neighbors.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said that despite some improvements, in terms of increased contruction permits for telephone companies, the Philippines is still behind many of the ASEAN countries, including Myanmar and Laos, as the government pushed telcos to do better.
“Narinig din natin mula sa National Telecommunications Commission kung nasaan ang Pilipinas kumpara sa mga karatig-bansa sa Asya. Hindi po tayo masaya na tayo ay nasa gitna ng ranking. Ayon sa speed test global index internet speed for mobile broadband improved by 94.35%; from 7.44 Mbps in July 2016 to 14.46 Mbps in February 2019 – pang number 33 pa po tayo,” he said.
Roque said that the Palace continues to receive complaints against major telcos. Remote communities have no internet, he said.
He also noted that Thailand placed no. 16, Vietnam was 18th and Laos was at no. 22 in internet speed.
The Palace spokesperson said that it would have been good if the Philippines was of the same ranking as Vietnam or Thailand.
“Pero parang mahirap pong tanggapin na nauna pa sa atin ang Laos! Nauna pa sa atin ang Myanmar! Huwag naman po! Kaya nga po tama rin na bastunin pa rin ng Presidente ang mga telecoms, dahil hindi naman po pupuwede na—hindi na nga namin sinulat diyan na pati ang Myanmar nauna pa sa atin,” he said.
Roque said that the Philippines’ internet speed was only better compared to Indonesia and Timore Leste.
“Ang katotohanan, nauna lang tayo sa Indonesia at saka sa Timor Leste, and that is not something that we should be proud of,” he said.
When President Duterte made his demand for telcos to improve their service, the country’s mobile broadband speed was 34th based on the speed test global index in October. This ranking hardly changed, Roque noted.
“Noong nagalit ang Presidente, ayon sa speed test global index October 2020, pagdating sa mobile broadband speed ay pantatlumpu’t apat na puwesto or number 34 ang Pilipinas, halos wala pong pinagbago,” he said.
He said Malacanang would continue to monitor how the various telcos would improve their services after the December deadline of the President, and monitor the complaints against these companies.
(Eagle News Service)