AFP FILE PHOTO
In a fast-paced digital age marked by the advancement of social media, the Philippines still has one of the slowest average broadband speeds in Asia and in the world.
In the latest household download index by Internet broadband testing company Ookla, the Philippines ranked 176th out of 202 countries with an average download speed of 3.64 megabit per second (mbps), way below the average broadband speed of 23.3 mbps. This was the second slowest in Asia, next to cellar-dweller Afghanistan with 2.52 mbps.
In terms of upload speed, the Philippines still lagged behind other countries as it ranked even lower at 178th with 1.54 mbps—way below the average global upload speed of 10.6 mbps.
Singapore has the fastest Internet speed in the world, both in terms of download (122.43 mbps) and upload speed (102.04 mbps). Asian countries like Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea also cracked the top ten of the speed index.
Equatorial Guinea recorded the slowest download speed in the world at 0.93 mbps, while Niger has the slowest upload speed set at 0.53 mbps.
Despite being one of the slowest, Internet in the Philippines also emerged as one of the most expensive (61st), with an average value of $18.19 per mbps, exceeding the average global cost of $5.21. The country also ranked 59th in the relative cost of broadband subscription, which was set at $31.55.
The recent Ookla speed test compared and ranked broadband speeds from April 18 to May 17.
“The value is the rolling mean speed in mbps over the past 30 days. Only tests taken within 300 miles of the server are eligible for inclusion in the index,” Ookla said in its website.
Last year, Sen. Bam Aquino filed a resolution seeking a congressional inquiry on the slow and pricy Internet service being provided by local telecommunication companies.
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