Internet speeds in the Philippines are now faster, according to the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT).
DICT Secretary Gregorio Honasan II said average fixed broadband Internet speeds jumped by about 800 percent, while mobile Internet speeds leaped by about 300 percent as of compared to the speeds in 2016.
“Dahil sa pataloy na pagdami ng mga tore at fiber, bumilis na ang Internet speed (With the continuous increase in the number of towers and fiber, Internet speeds have accelerated),” Honasan said in a public briefing.
Citing data from global speed monitoring firm Speedtest by Ookla, Honasan reported that average fixed broadband speeds in the country was clocked at 72.56 megabits per second (mbps) as of August this year.
In comparison, the DICT chief pointed out that the fixed broadband speeds in the country back in July 2016 was measured at 7.91 mbps.
On the other hand, mobile speeds rose from 7.44 mbps in July 2016 to 33.77 mbps as of August 2021, he added.
Based on the data from the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), Honasan reported that around 980,000 kilometers of fiber optic cables have already been laid out as of July.
Meanwhile, there are currently 25,313 towers constructed across the country, compared 16,051 towers back in December 2017.
Honasan also highlighted that it now only takes 16 days for the issuance of permit for tower construction, a significant improvement from the previous timeline of 214 days.
This was after the DICT and other government agencies issued Joint Memorandum Circular (JMC) No. 1, series of 2020, which seeks to streamline the permitting and issuance of necessary clearances for building common towers.
Free Wi-Fi program
The DICT has installed 10,966 free Wi-Fi sites across the country under its “Free Wi-Fi for All” Program as of last month, Honasan said.
He noted that the program achieved a 500 percent increase in its rollout rate in 2020.
From its previous annual average of 800 sites a year from 2016 to 2019, the DICT activated a total of 4,305 sites in 2020.
“Itong (This) connectivity, yung (the) access to data and information, is now classified as a right,” Honasan said.
“Parang (Just like) food, clothing, shelter, education, health services, and then access to data and information,” he added.