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MANILA, Philippines — While the average cost to connect to fixed wired broadband in the Philippines sits on a high range in Asean, the cost of connecting to the internet in the country is cheaper because most Filipinos use the mobile, or wireless, option, according to a telecommunications firm.
In a statement, Globe Telecom Inc. said the Philippines’ “challenging topography” has made the country’s online connectivity largely mobile.
Latest data from research firms Hootsuite and We Are Social’s Digital 2021 report said that there are a total of 73.91 million internet users in the Philippines as of January 2021.
This has pushed the largest players in the telecom industry to adopt a “mobile-first strategy”, according to the Globe statement seeking to clarify a previous report listing the costs of fixed and wired internet connections.
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The Globe statement said the costs of mobile, or wireless, connection has been omitted in the data cited by the previous report and that’s the reason Philippine internet costs appeared to be among the highest in Asean.
“Despite the many challenges, the industry has done all that it could to respond to the needs of consumers,” said the Globe statement, quoting Maria Yolanda Crisanto, SVP and chief sustainability officer for Globe Telecom.
