Internet providers urged to disclose actual Internet speeds to the public

Internet service providers in the country should disclose to the public the actual Internet speed they could provide, House Committee on Information and Communications Technology vice chair Joy Myra Tambunting said Sunday.

Tambunting made the call amid growing complaints from the public related to Internet connectivity especially that most people are now highly dependent on the Internet for working from home and attending online classes.

In a Dobol B sa News TV interview, Tambunting lamented that Internet service providers are not being truthful with their advertised Internet speeds.

"Ang mga Internet providers, dapat sinasabi naman nila talaga ang totoo. Nagsabi naman ng totoo ang ating secretary that we are only receiving this number of Mbps (megabits per second)," she said.

"Ang mga Internet providers, masyado ang marketing nila. Hindi naman totoo 'yung mga sinasabi nila doon sa marketing nila dahil the truth is, at tama rin ang sinasabi ng Secretary ng DICT, the infrastructure that we have for our Internet cannot provide us the Internet that providers say that they have," she added.

Tambunting was referring to the remark of Department of Information and Communications Technology Secretary Gringo Honasan, where he said the country is only averaging 3 to 7 Mbps of Internet speed, although "we are not doing badly."

The lawmaker stressed the need for Internet service providers to improve their infrastructure to boost their Internet speeds.

"Kailangan mag-improve talaga ng infrastructure ang mga Internet providers. Kailangan talaga nila invest-an ng pera, maglagay sila ng logistics. Talagang kailangan nilang mag-build underground," she said.

"And government will have to mandate these companies to start doing their jobs and putting up their own infrastructure. Kagaya ng ibang countries na talagang ang gaganda ng infrastructure for Internet," she added.

Tambunting also said their committee has already created a technical working group to discuss the measure she co-authored to improve the country's Internet connectivity.

"Sa complaints na pumapasok sa NTC (National Telecommunications Commission), hayaan niyong makapasok sa NTC. Dapat naman talaga," she added. —Erwin Colcol/KG, GMA News