DICT chief Honasan boasts improvement in Philippine internet speeds

Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Secretary Gregorio “Gringo” Honasan II claimed that internet connectivity in the Philippines had drastically improved and that the country was no longer lagging behind in global internet speed rankings.

During the House Committee on Appropriations hearing on the DICT’s proposed 2022 budget, Honasan said the country’s internet connectivity improved by around 700% for fixed broadband and 300% for mobile.

“‘Di pa po tayo nasa itaas pero di na tayo kulelat ngayon (We're not yet at the top, but we are no longer lagging behind). That’s one good news,” he said.

Latest data from global internet speed monitoring firm Speedtest by Ookla as of July 2021 showed that the country's fixed broadband average download speed reached 71.17 Mbps, this is an almost 800% improvement from the 7.91 Mbps level in July 2016, when the Duterte Administration came to office.

Mobile download speed, meanwhile, reached 33.69 Mbps, a 353% improvement from the 7.44 Mbps level in July 2016.

Likewise, the Philippines’ global ranking in terms of mobile internet speed improved to 72nd out of 139 countries from 100th out of 122 countries Speedtest by Ookla began its global rankings in August 2017.

In terms of fixed broadband ranking, the country ranked 63rd out of 180 countries, from 94th out of 133 countries in August 2017.

Honasan said the government, through the DICT, had convinced telcos to balance profits with public interest.

“Nakukumbinse na po namin yung mga telco na magtulungan tayo dito. Hindi na po pinaguusapan dito yung kikitain dahil the telecommunications industry is so big that you can actually moderate your greed,” he said.

(We are starting to convince telcos to cooperate with the government. This is no longer about earnings because the telecommunications industry is so big that you can moderate your greed.)

“Pwedeng timplahin naman ‘yung corporate objective at saka na public interest component nito. Nakukumbinse na po natin sila…tumutulong na sila sa atin. We might develop some traction here,” he added.

(We can blend corporate objectives and public interest components here. And we are convincing them… they are helping us.)

— DVM, GMA News