ILOILO – The country’s internet speed rankings for both fixed broadband and mobile internet continued their upturn in June, according to the latest figures released by global speed monitoring firm Speedtest by Ookla.
“The continuous upward trend in PH internet speeds is a welcome development in our efforts to prepare for full participation in the global digital economy,” said Sec. Gregorio Honasan II of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT).
Based on Ookla figures for June 2021, the country’s average download speed for fixed broadband is 66.55 megabits per second (Mbps), a 6.82 increase from the 59.73 Mbps speed in May.
The mobile internet speed in June reached 32.84 Mbps, which showed an increase of 0.86 from the recorded 31.98 Mbps in May.
The upward trend gained traction after President Rodrigo Duterte issued directives in July last year, which challenged telecommunication companies (telcos) to shape up and called on government agencies to assist telcos by streamlining the tower permitting process.
Moreover, the DICT and the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) have revised the expanded Joint Memorandum Circular (JMC) No. 001, series of 2021 on July 1 to harmonize the provisions of the original policy and Republic Act No. 11494 or the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act.
The JMC became instrumental in reducing procedural delays in securing the necessary permits and documentary requirements in the construction of common towers.
According to ARTA, the policy shortened the timeline to the target period of 16 days compared to the original 214 days. It also brought down permits from 30 to eight and documentary requirements from 86 to 35./PN
