Facebook Philippines to reduce bit rates for videos during Luzon ECQ — DICT

MANILA, Philippines — Facebook Philippines will reduce its bit rates for videos on Facebook and Instagram during the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in Luzon, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) announced Thursday.

This came in the wake of the DICT’s call to ensure that internet access is stable in the country during the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

DICT Secretary Gregorio B. Honasan II said that the quarantine has led to a “significant surge” in the use of digital services and streaming platforms which has strained the country’s internet infrastructure.

“Along with food, water, and medicine, connectivity is vital for the people right now. With the participation of our private sector, we hope to maintain and improve the Filipino’s internet connectivity during this crisis,” Honasan said in a statement.

The move by Facebook Philippines, the DICT said, is expected to “address network congestion and free up bandwidth allocation that may be used for other vital online services.”

Likewise, DICT said that online streaming platforms such as Netflix, Google, iFlix and iWant have also taken similar measures following the request of the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC).

We Are Social’s closely-followed Digital 2020 report showed that Facebook was the most used social media platform in the Philippines. It said last February that Facebook was used by 96 percent of internet users in the country over the past month.

This was followed by YouTube (95 percent), Facebook Messenger (89 percent), Instagram (64 percent) and Twitter (56 percent).

As of April 8, the Department of Health (DOH) said there are 3,870 COVID-19 cases in the country, with the death toll now reaching 182.

/MUF/TSB