Study: Pinoys paying for expensive but ‘mediocre’ internet

The Philippines is among countries with “least affordable” internet services, yet consumers are receiving only “mediocre” quality of connectivity, according to a study by cybersecurity firm Surfshark.

In its latest Digital Quality of Life Index (DQL) report, the firm said the country’s ranking in terms of digital wellbeing fell to 55th—from 48th in the previous year—out of 117 countries. This was based on five fundamental digital life pillars, including internet affordability, which was the Philippines’ weakest spot as it ranked 98th globally.

“Residents can buy 1 GB (gigabyte) of mobile internet in the Philippines for as cheap as four minutes 51 seconds of work per month,” it noted. “However, compared to Israel, which has the most affordable mobile internet on the planet (five seconds per 1GB), Filipinos work 59 times more.”

For fixed broadband connectivity, Filipinos have to work 11 hours and five minutes per month to be able to pay for it. Compared to Israel, which has internet packages costing 19 minutes of work monthly, Filipinos have to work 34 times more.

“Since last year, broadband internet has become less affordable in the Philippines, making people work six hours [and] four minutes more to afford fixed broadband internet service,” the DQL research said.

The study noted that broadband services, in general, were getting less affordable due to rising inflation globally.

Also, the Philippines ranked 45th in internet quality, which considered internet speed, stability and growth.

“Internet quality in the Philippines is comparatively mediocre, and on a global scale fixed broadband internet is better than mobile,” Surfshark noted.

The country’s fixed broadband internet speed is at 75.1 megabits per second (Mbps) and mobile internet, 38.7 Mbps.

The DQL study noted that fixed broadband and mobile internet speed had improved by 52.2 percent and 33 percent, respectively, since last year.

However, “in comparison, Singapore residents enjoyed mobile speeds up to 104 Mbps and fixed to as much as 261 Mbps—that’s the fastest internet in the world this year,” it added.

In terms of electronic security, the country placed 44th, its best achieved ranking yet among the five digital life pillars. For electronic infrastructure and e-government, it landed at 65th and 62nd, respectively.

This year’s study surveyed over 7.2 billion individuals across the globe.