“Here’s one thing that the Philippine media won’t tell you: Why Internet access in the country is still crappy, slow and expensive. It’s because of our protectionism and restrictive economic policies that repel or scare foreign investors and benefit only the oligarchs, cronies and politically connected corporatists.”
Between 2010 and 2013, a handful of articles about the molasses-like state of Pinoy broadband have been published. Various forum topics on it have also been discussed. Since others have already done their homework and come up with very detailed TL;DR posts, here’s a shortlist of the more popular ones:
- Sep 2010: Slow Broadband : Congress Investigation on Substandard Broadband Internet Services Sought [TechPinas]
- Sep 2012: Philippine internet access remains slow, expensive [ABS-CBN News]
- Jan 2013: The Real Reason Internet Access in PH is Slow and Expensive [The Vincenton Post]
- Feb/Mar 2013: Why are Filipinos paying more for slow internet? [MichaelJacob.net]
Contributed by Adam:
- Mar 2013: Globe stands by interconnection issues vs PLDT [The Philippine Star | Philstar.com]
“It’s really sad in the end. Let’s dream for a moment that the Philippines had really good internet, affordable, can you imagine? Think of all the businesses it would attract here, and the jobs it would create. People here are very talented, so it’s not a skill problem. Equipment can’t be that huge of an expense. Japan, Singapore, Korea, and even Thailand have better Internet [access]. Often when I bring it up, I get this, ‘we are a poor country!’ – But that argument fails because [the] Ukraine is a developing country and they have the 10th fastest and affordable Internet [access] in the world.”
Know of another source of info on why broadband Internet access here remains slow and expensive? Please share it in a comment.
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