Philippines 7th in Southeast Asia in internet resilience — group

The Philippines placed seventh among its Southeast Asian peers in terms of internet resilience, according to the international non-profit advocacy organization Internet Society (ISOC).

In ISOC’s Pulse Internet Resilience Index, the Philippines scored 46% in overall resilience.

The country was six places behind Singapore (72%), Vietnam (52%), Brunei (51%), Malaysia (51%), Thailand (51%), and Indonesia (48%).

The Philippines, however, was ahead of Myanmar (45%), Cambodia (43%), Laos (42%), and Timor Leste (38%).

"The internet plays a critical role in society today, and the COVID-19 pandemic further underlined the importance of reliable Internet connectivity for everyone. Unfortunately, not all countries have reliable Internet infrastructure," ISOC said.

"Low-income countries often have under-provisioned networks and lack robust cable infrastructure and redundant interconnection systems. In these countries or regions, the likelihood of Internet outages occurring is much higher than elsewhere," it said.

The organization tracked the internet resilience of more than 170 countries.
ISOC measured internet resilience on four pillars: infrastructure, performance, security, and market readiness.

In terms of infrastructure, the Philippines ranked third with a score of 48%, behind Singapore and Cambodia with respective scores of 74% and 50%.

The pillar measures the existence and availability of the physical infrastructure that provides internet connectivity.

The Philippines scored 54% for the cable ecosystem and 82% for mobile connectivity, but scored 5% for enabling infrastructure, with notably low numbers of data centers and internet exchange points.

In terms of performance—the ability of the network to provide end-users with seamless and reliable access to Internet services—the country placed sixth, scoring 29% on mobile performance and 76% on fixed network performance.

For security, the country ranked ninth with a score of 54%. The pillar measures the ability of the network to resist intentional or unintentional disruptions through the adoption of security technologies and best practices.

On market readiness, the Philippines ranked eighth with a score of 35%. This measures the ability of the market to self-regulate and provide affordable prices to end-users by maintaining a diverse and competitive market.

"A resilient internet connection is one that maintains an acceptable level of service in the face of faults and challenges to normal operation," ISOC said.

The advocacy group said its Internet Resilience Index is aimed at supporting the development of policies and infrastructure to improve Internet resilience at the local, regional, and global levels. — VBL, GMA Integrated News