Right amount of regulation, increased gov’t support

We write in reaction to the column titled “Lagging, disconnected” by Hyacinth Tagupa (IamGenM, Opinion, 7/8/16), where she made reference to the 2015 Akamai report to say that “we are third from slowest.” This report is reflective of fixed internet only (DSL wireline, home broadband) and not mobile internet, and therefore cannot be used as reference to the total use of internet in our country. We have called out Akamai several times to include the mobile internet speed in its report to be fair to the Philippines.

On many occasions, Globe has repeatedly said that the reason for internet speed challenges for fixed internet is due to lack of infrastructure. In this case, we need to roll out more fiber optic cables. Arguably, our mobile network infrastructure is more developed, enabling us to support several technologies from 2G, 3G, 4G and LTE on mobile. With better mobile infrastructure, we also track better mobile internet speeds. The good news is this situation will soon change; in the case of Globe, we are doing massive investments to roll out fiber optics to address fixed internet speeds and performance.

Another study mentioned by Tagupa was a survey done by Ookla on the cost per megabyte (1MB) of data in the Philippines compared to other countries. We wish to point out that the cost per gigabyte (1GB) of data in the Philippines is now below P50 per GB, the second lowest in the whole Asia-Pacific! Globe also started offering its home broadband plans where the price is only P2,499 for the 50 Mbps plan, which translates to only P50/Mbps, and P3,400 for a 100 Mbps plan, which translates to P34.99/Mbps—again one of the lowest in Asia!

Unfortunately, some interest groups will make people believe that “a third player is the answer to save the Philippine internet.” In reality, however, these would-be player/s back out upon seeing the stiff competition in this market and the high cost of investments; they themselves are not bold enough to put their money where their mouth is.

Across global markets, the telco industry is known to be among the most dynamic and highly competitive industries, and the situation in the Philippines is no different from other countries worldwide. The competition is so intense, leading to several price wars and the sharp reduction of prices for core telco services, such as voice and SMS. Today, the SMS (text) rate is only P0.08 per text due to unlimited services, compared to the P1 per text when this service was first introduced.

The real answer to our internet issues lies in having the right amount of regulation and increased government support, much like what developed countries currently enjoy. We encourage the government to play its role in building the internet superhighway through a national broadband network, help the industry by removing barriers to fast-track infrastructure building, and address the inequities that exist today, including spectrum management.

Globe embraces the challenges of the future and we shall continue to provide superior mobile and internet services for our customers to enjoy.

—YOLY CRISANTO, SVP, Corporate Communications, Globe Telecom