By NG Seruela
The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) said the country’s internet speed has improved since 2016.
In President Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s public address aired on Tuesday (Sep. 14), DICT Sec. Gregorio “Gringo” Honasan reported that due to the continuous increase of towers and fiber cables, the average fixed internet speed has increased by 800% and the average mobile internet speed has increased by 300% as of August 2021.
“Noong August 2021, 800% na ang increase natin sa average speed noong hindi gumagalaw [fixed] na internet, 300% sa average speed noong mobile [internet], ayon sa datos ng isang international company na nagre-rate sa telecommunication services.”
Honasan said the current average download speed of the fixed broadband internet is 72.56 Megabits per second (Mbps) compared to the average speed of 7.92 Mbps in 2016. In addition to this, the current average download speed of the mobile internet is 33.77 Mbps compared to the 7.44 Mbps in July 2016.
In relation to this, the DICT chief said the department intensified its distribution of internet through the Free Wi-Fi program especially in quarantine facilities and vaccination sites.
“Ngayong pandemya, mas mahalaga ang mabilis na internet connection. Mas lalong pinag-ibayo ng DICT ang pamamahagi ng internet sa pamamagitan ng Free Wi-Fi Program lalo na sa mga quarantine facilities at bakuna sites.”
He reported that the DICT has established 10,996 free Wi-Fi sites nationwide as of August 2021. -rir
