U.S. broadband-diagnostics firm Ookla (aka speedtest.net) has ranked the Philippines 176 out of 202 countries worldwide and second-last among Asian nations in its latest household download index, which compares global download speeds over a period of 30 days (between April 18, 2015 and May 17, 2015). As if we needed further proof that we’re getting the short end of the stick, the Philippines’ connection speed is listed as 3.64Mbps — a far cry from the global average of 23.3Mbps. Only Afghanistan’s median download speed of 2.52Mbps fared worse than the Philippines in Asia.
To give you a better idea of how embarrassingly far behind the curve we are, here’s a brief look at how the top Asian countries stack up in Ookla’s rankings:
1. Singapore: 122.43 Mbps
2. Hong Kong: 102.96 Mbps
3. Japan: 82.12 Mbps
4. South Korea: 59.77 Mbps
5. Macau: 50.66 Mbps
6. Taiwan: 50.59 Mbps
7. Thailand: 19.82 Mbps
8. Mongolia: 17.92 Mbps
9. Vietnam: 17.70 Mbps
10. Bangladesh: 9.86 Mbps
We don’t need Ookla to tell us how lousy our broadband speeds are. Most of us only need to go to YouTube to realize that our home network can’t handle a standard-def clip without hiccups.
MY TAKE: We don’t need Ookla, or another company, or Bam Aquino, to tell us how lousy our broadband speeds are. Most of us only need to go to YouTube to realize that our home network can’t handle a standard-def clip without a few hiccups. This issue rests entirely on the shoulders of the government and the Internet-service providers it allows to operate freely — and without accountability, it seems — within the country.
If our political leaders are indeed serious about the telecommunications industry playing a key role in the Philippines’ economic future, the hammer needs to come down hard on broadband companies, and it needs to come down now.
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