Congestion, oversubscription causes slow internet connection

An exasperated Sen. Loren Legarda questioned telecommunication companies about the slow and expensive internet connections. Photo from Legarda’s official Facebook page.

MANILA – In a senate hearing, lawmakers vent out their frustration over the ‘snail-paced’ internet connection in the country and proposed to set standards for its regulation.

“Imagine, meron na akong Wifi at 3G, mabagal pa rin. Talaga bang mabagal ang dalawang kompanya? Ano ba ‘yun?! (Imagine, I already have Wifi and 3G, but my Internet connection is still slow.

Are the two companies just that slow? What is that?!),” Senator Loren Legarda said.

During the senate hearing, Legarda asked several press officials from the telecommunication companies Globe and Smart to explain why the internet is so expensive yet unreliable.

“As we speak, there is no Internet in my office,” Legarda said. “Internet is either absent or excruciatingly slow which is so exasperating, frustrating. I don’t like high-tech answers, please. I am not high-tech. Gusto ko maintindihan. Ang mahal ng singil, bakit ganoon? (I want to understand. You charge so much, why is that?),” Legarda asked.

Smart Communications’ representative responded saying that congestion was really the main reason for the problem.

“You can have a network with more than adequate capacity but you can have congestion in a specific area. The common example is a concert. Tens of thousands are in one area. All have cellphones; many taking selfies. It’s hard to design a network that can handle that capacity,” said Ramon Isberto, head of the public affairs group of Smart Communications.

To address the issue, Isberto added that telcos must invest in extending networks through the building of more cell cites which however will “entail capital expenditure.”

On the other hand, Senator Ralph Recto proposes his own measure to regulate Internet speed.

Recto filed a bill which requires the companies to set a minimum Internet speed at 10 Megabits per second (Mbps) for mobile broadband/Internet access, and 20 Mbps for fixed and fixed wireless broadband/Internet access or those installed at home.

“The transition to a faster internet speed would be two years after the enactment of the law,” Recto said.

The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), which regulates telcos, also has its own proposal to make Internet a “basic service” instead of a “value added service.”

“This means speed and price are dictated by the market. Maybe we want to make it a basic service to regulate speed and price,” said NTC Commissioner Gamaliel Cordoba.

Senate trade committee chairman Senator Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino IV, who also was the one who called for the hearing, agreed with the NTC’s proposal.

He added that making the internet a basic service is a must and that it is possible by amending the Public Service Act of 1936.

“Imagine, we’re talking about the high-tech information age and we’re still using a 1936 law so it’s about time we update this law and use amendments to push for better access and more affordable Internet in the Philippines,” Aquino said.