Philippines internet speed faster months after Duterte warning, says NTC

The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) on Friday reported an increase in the country's internet speed in the last month, months after President Duterte called on public services providers to improve their services.

Interviewed at the Laging Handa public briefing, NTC Deputy Commissioner Edgardo Cabarios said that Philippines' internet speed went to 28.69 Mbps from more than 25 Mbps in July 2020, citing data from web service Ookla.

Cabarios added that the approval of permits for telecommunication companies to build cell towers went up to 600 percent.

"Nakikita na po natin 'yung improvement ng November, mas malaki by December at by next quarter or by next, next year first quarter lalaki nang lalaki ho 'yan kasi at that time marami nang cell sites ang naitayo," he said.

Cabarios said the government would use Dito Telecommunity Corporation's 27 megabits per second (mbps) of internet speed "commitment" as a benchmark for the country's internet speed in 2021.

There are currently 371 permits for cell sites being approved on a monthly average, compared to just 63 in 2019, according to Cabarios.

"As of November kasi ang total number of cell sites is 22,500. So siguro may increase na 1,000 sites, so nakikita naman natin, that will improve a lot ng ating speed," he said.

Filipinos are entitled to a “world-class” internet service, Malacañang has said Tuesday, as the Philippines remains lagging behind neighboring countries in terms of speed.

The NTC previously said the Philippines ranked 32nd out of 50 Asian countries based on the Speedtest Global Index for fixed broadband as October this year. The country placed 34th for mobile internet speed. -NB, GMA News