Palace backs Honasan on Philippines' 'not bad' internet speed

Malacañang on Thursday backed the assessment of Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Secretary Gregorio Honasan II that the country’s internet speed is “not that bad.”

Honasan revealed during a budget hearing on Tuesday that the Philippines’ average internet speed is 3-7 megabits per second (Mbps) even though he admitted that this pales in comparison to other countries.

“Secretary Gringo Honasan was absolutely correct – it’s not bad compared to our neighbors,” presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said in a televised briefing. “But we can do better and we will do better.”

The Palace official added President Rodrigo Duterte has taken steps to expedite the approval process for the construction of telecommunications towers and other infrastructure.

“Ibig sabihin, wala na pong dahilan ang mga telcos sa mga darating na panahon para hindi magbigay nang mas mabuting serbisyo sa panahon na talagang pati sa edukasyon ay nangangailangan tayo ng internet,” Roque said.

Duterte earlier threatened to shut down dominant telecommunications firms Globe Telecom Inc. and Smart Communications Inc. if they would fail to improve their services by December. —AOL, GMA News