Internet in the Philippines

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Internet in the Philippines has been undergoing development since it was made available in 1994. As of September 30, 2011, more than 30,000,000 people use the internet in the country accounting for 33% of the total population. The top-level domain of the country is .ph

World map of internet penetration (number of Internet users as a percentage of a country's population), 2010
World map of internet users, 2010

Contents

History [edit]

The Internet first made its connection to the Philippines on March 1994. On that date the Philippine Network Foundation (PHNet) connected the country and its people to Sprint in the United States via a 64 kbit/s link.[1]

A year after the connection, The Public Telecommunications Act of the Philippines was made into law. Securing a Franchise is now optional for value-added service providers. This law enabled many other organizations to establish connections to the Internet, such as to create Web sites and having their own Internet services or providing Internet service and access to other groups and individuals. These developments are very significant for the country's internet sector.

However the growth of the internet in the Philippines was hindered by many obstacles including unequal distribution of the internet infrastructure throughout the country, its cost and corruption in the government.[2] But these obstacles did not altogether halt all the developments. More connection types were made available to more Filipinos. Increasing bandwidth and a growing number of Filipino internet users as years passed were proof of the continuing development of the internet in the country.

Filipino online protest against the Cyber Crime Law of 2012

The Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, codified as Republic Act No. 10175, criminalized cybersquatting, cybersex, child pornography, identity theft, illegal access to data and libel.[3] The act has been criticized for its provision on criminalizing libel, which is perceived to be a curtailment in freedom of expression. After several petitions submitted to the Supreme Court of the Philippines questioned the constitutionality of the Act,[4] the Supreme Court issued a temporary restraining order on October 9, 2012, stopping implementation of the Act for 120 days.[5]

Filipino Internet Consumers [edit]

Internet cafe in the Philippines
Worldmap of internet browsers. In the Philippines 62.43% use Google Chrome, 25.15% Firefox, 6.28% Internet Explorer, 4.13% Safari.[6]

About one in three consumers in the Philippines are accessing the internet in 2011, according to a report from AGB Nielsen Philippines.[7] Among the findings in the report are:

  • 33% of Filipinos access the Internet, five percentage points below the Southeast Asian regional average of 38%.
  • Internet penetration amongst consumers aged 15 to 19 was close to two-thirds (65%) and nearly half of those in their 20‟s were online (48%).
  • There is still much room for growth for those aged 30+ – less than one quarter of consumers aged in their 30s (24%) access the Internet, 13% of consumers in their 40s, and just 4% of consumers aged 50+.
  • 52% of Filipinos have a computer with high speed Internet connection at home.
  • Home is the most common Internet access point for those aged 30 years and above close to nine in ten Internet users aged 50 years and above (86%) cite "home" as their main point of access.
  • 74% of 15-19 years identify Internet cafés as their main point of Internet access.
  • Already close to one quarter of Filipinos Internet users (24%) access the Internet on a daily basis via a mobile phone and 56% intend to access the Internet via a mobile phone in the next 12 months.
  • Over two thirds of Filipino digital consumers (67%) have visited social networking sites, compared to 40% who use email.
  • The Philippines ranked second highest for the number of people who have ever "liked" or followed a brand, company or celebrity on a social networking site (75%).
  • 61% of Filipino Internet users said they trusted consumer opinions posted online, higher than any other market in Southeast Asia and seven points above the regional average.
  • Online product reviews and discussion forums are one of the most trusted sources of recommendations in purchase decision making, second only to recommendations from family and friends.
  • Close to two thirds of digital Filipinos (64%) use social media as a resource in purchase decision making.

Availability and connection quality [edit]

In the Philippines, broadband Internet is usually available to consumers through 2 methods: cable and DSL. Cable Internet is offered through companies such as ZPDee Cable, Global Destiny Cable and Parasat "Cable21", Caceres "C3", Skyline "Cheetah", USATV1, Viacomm, Aeronet, KwikNET (Los Baños, Laguna) usually starting at 64 kbit/s. ComClark (Pampanga) usually starting at 384 kbit/s. PLDT, BayanTel, Globe Telecom and Eastern Telecom (ETPI) offer DSL starting at 128 kbit/s up to 5 Mbit/s. Broadband Internet is also widely available at public Internet cafes and offices, especially in major cities. Wireless (WiFi) broadband Internet is progressively being rolled out in coffee shops, malls and major airports around the country.

In 2005, Smart Communications launched "Smart Wi-Fi", which, contrary to its name, does not make use of WiFi but wireless Internet connection via its cellular infrastructure. The service offers wireless fixed broadband through the use of Motorola's Canopy equipment. The service was later rebranded as "Smart BRO" on April 2006. The "Smart BRO" connection quality varies - for example even by the end of 2012 all Eastern Samar Motorola's Canopy users get 30-60kbps speed test result within the Smart network during all day hours for connections advertised as up to 1-2mbps.

Providers:

  • Solid Broadband Corporation, is the first to offer residential broadband through its Cable Internet. They also offer sDSL services of up to 1.5 Mbit/s on hi-rise buildings. [1]
  • Bayan Telecommunications, through BayanDSL (formerly SkyDSL), offers ADSL from 768 kbit/s to 2.5 Mbit/s. [2] They also offer cable Internet from 64 kbit/s to 1 Mbit/s through ZPDee. [3] Sky Broadband cable also offers speeds up to 112 Mbit/s. [4]
  • ETPI offers SDSL from 256 kbit/s to 2 Mbit/s. [5]
  • Globe Telecom, through its subsidiary Innove offers ADSL from 512 kbit/s to 4 Mbit/s. [6]
  • PLDT offers ADSL from 384 kbit/s to 5 Mbit/s. [7]
  • PT&T offers ADSL and SDSL from 384 kbit/s to 2 Mbit/s. [8]
  • Smart Communications offers wireless fixed broadband at 384 kbit/s 512 kbit/s and 4 Mbit/s for corporate lines. In 2008, it has become available in prepaid through the use of a USB modem where users can purchase load/credit at different handphone loading centres.
  • ComClark Network and Technology Corp offers Cable Internet known as Surestream, Wireless (WiFi) known as Wireless Anywhere Metro, Wireless fixed broadband known as Extreme Wireless, Instanet Prepaid Cards Pampanga Only and Fiber Optics [9]
  • Mozcom Communications offers a variety of dial-up services such as Nitro cards.
  • USATV1 Inc. Has a 1Mbit/s service.
  • Sun Cellular offers 3.5G-enabled wireless Internet up to 2 Mbit/s. This also uses USB modem and can be used nationwide.
  • Wi-Tribe offers Wi-Max Internet up to 2Mbit/s, and 4Mbit/s.

See also [edit]

References [edit]

  1. ^ Miguel A. L. Paraz: Developing a Viable Framework for Commercial Internet Operations in the Asia-Pacific Region: The Philippine Experience. ISOC, INET 1997
  2. ^ Philippines - PUBLIC ACCESS LANDSCAPE STUDY Research Team Emmanuel Lallana, University of Washington Center for Information & Society (CIS), 2009.
  3. ^ Republic Act No. 10175 AN ACT DEFINING CYBERCRIME, PROVIDING FOR THE PREVENTION, INVESTIGATION, SUPPRESSION AND THE IMPOSITION OF PENALTIES THEREFOR AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES. Approved by President of the Philippines BENIGNO S. AQUINO III on September 12, 2012
  4. ^ Canlas, Jonas (27 September 2012). "Suits pile up assailing anti-cybercrime law". The Manila Times. Retrieved 27 September 2012. 
  5. ^ Torres, Tetch (9 October 2012). "SC issues TRO vs cyber law". Philippine Daily Inquirer (Philippine Daily Inquirer, Inc.). Retrieved 9 October 2012. 
  6. ^ Top 5 browsers in Philippines on February 2013 Statcounter Global Stats
  7. ^ One in three consumers in the Philippines are now accessing the Internet. social networking playing an increasing role in consumer purchasing decisions AGB Nielsen Philippines Manila, 12 July 2011. The report is a pre-release of data from Nielsen's inaugural Southeast Asia Digital Consumer Report available September 30, 2011.
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