Press Release
April 22, 2014

Sen. Bam Calls for Investigation on Slow, Expensive Internet

Senator Bam Aquino calls for an investigation to determine if consumers are indeed getting their money's worth from Internet service being provided by telecommunication companies.

The senator made the move after it was reported that the Philippines is lagging behind its Southeast Asian neighbors in terms of Internet speed.

According to ASEAN DNA, 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 ASEAN average of 12.4 MBPS.

The senator wants to determine why some neighboring countries in Southeast Asia enjoy faster Internet speed at a much cheaper price while the Philippines bear the brunt of slow connection.

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

On the average, consumers shell out around P1,000 a month for Internet service with speeds of up to two megabytes per second (MBPS) while some telecommunication companies offering speed of up to five MBPS for around P2,000 a month.

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

Singtel, the largest telecommunications company in Singapore, offers 15 megabytes per second of Internet speed for 36.90 Singapore dollars or around P1,312 a month (P87 per MPBS).

Thailand's True Internet, for its part, provides 12 MBPS of connection for about 799 baht or P1,100 (P92 per MPBS).

"Do we always have to pay a steep price for slow and sometimes unreliable Internet connection? NTC should provide a logical and clear explanation on this," Aquino emphasized.

The senator added that the investigation should look into ways on how to improve the country's poor Internet connection, which is crucial to the country's economic growth.

"We have to find ways to improve the system and fast, especially with the ASEAN Economic Integration happening a year from now," Aquino said. --

Sen. Bam: Mabagal, Mahal na Internet Silipin!

Nais ni Senador Bam Aquino na imbestigahan kung hindi naaagrabyado ang mga consumer sa ibinibigay na Internet service ng telecommunication companies.

Ginawa ng senador ang pagkilos matapos lumabas ang ulat na nangungulelat ang Pilipinas sa mga kalapit-bansa sa Southeast Asia pagdating sa bilis ng Internet.

Ayon sa isang infographic na inilabas ng ASEAN DNA, ang Pilipinas ay naunahan pa ng (3.6 megabytes per second) Laos (4.0 Mbps), Indonesia (4.1 Mbps), Myanmar, Brunei (4.9 Mbps), Malaysia (5.5 Mbps) at Cambodia (5.7 Mbps).

Kabilang naman sa mga bansa na ang bilis ng Internet ay mataas sa ASEAN average na 12.4 MBPS ay Vietnam(13.1) , Thailand (17.7) at Singapore.

Gusto ring malaman ng senador kung bakit mas mabilis at mas mura ang Internet ng ilang mga kalapit bansa habang nagtitiis ang Pilipinas sa mabagal na koneksyon.

"Marami tayong natatanggap na reklamo ukol sa kabiguan ng provider na ibigay ang ipinangakong bilis ng Internet, na nagreresulta sa mabagal na koneksiyon," wika ng senador.

Kadalasan, nagbabayad ang consumer ng P1,000 kada buwan sa Internet service na may bilis na hanggang two megabyte kada segundo o MBPS habang ang ibang telecommunication companies ay naniningil ng P2,000 para sa Internet na may bilis na limang MBPS.

"Mahal ito kumpara sa Singapore at Thailand kung saan makikita ang isa sa pinakamabilis na Internet connection sa mundo," wika ni Aquino.

Ayon sa senador, ang Singtel, na siyang pinakamalaking telecommunications company sa Singapore, ay nag-aalok ng 15 megabytes kada segundo ng Internet speed para sa 36.90 Singapore dollars o P1,312 kada buwan (P87 kada MPBS).

Ang True Internet ng Thailand naman ay mayroong 12 MBPS ng koneksiyon para sa bayad na 799 baht o P1,100 (P92 kada MPBS).

"Kailangan ba nating magbayad ng mahal para sa mabagal at kung minsan ay hindi maasahang Internet connection? Dapat magbigay ng malinaw na paliwanag ang NTC ukol dito," giit ng senador.

Idinagdag ng senador na kasama sa imbestigasyon ang paghahanap ng mga paraan kung paano mapapabilis ang Internet connection sa bansa, na mahalaga sa paglago ng ekonomiya.

"Kailangang mabilis tayong makahanap ng paraan kung paano mapapabilis an gating Internet, lalo't papalapit na ang ASEAN Economic Integration sa susunod na taon," wika ng senador.

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