6 out of 10 Filipinos Still Not Connected to the Internet

A study published by global management consulting firm McKinsey and Company October last year reveals that the Philippines ranked 11th on countries that have huge percentages of non-internet adoption, as over 63 percent of Filipinos, or around 62 million,  are still not connected to the world wide web.

In the same report, it was unveiled that the Philippines is among the top 20 countries that compose 75 percent of 4.4 billion people worldwide still do not have internet access. The report also cited four barriers such as low income and affordability, incentives, user capability, and infrastructure.

The Philippines is under a group which the company touts having medium to high barriers, among its main problems include lack of mobile internet coverage or network access and adjacent infrastructure, lack of internet awareness and relevant content and services for people to go online, and the cost of consumer electronics needed to connect to the internet which happens to cost at an average of $295 or roughly Php13,300.

Based on the statistical data, a majority of people offline belong to the rural areas, which amounts to 53 percent of the Philippine offline community. Most of them have low income (60%), and are aged up to 24 years (62%).

This report was also released at a time when telecom networks were beefing up competition: Smart Communications released its Free 30MB internet package to its subscribers and is extended until next month , while Globe Telecom announced free Facebook (now with free Viber) and the completion of their 4G HSPA+ rollout.

Let’s face it, it’s a lot harder to have a connection up and running in an archipelago like Indonesia or even our country. Not defending the telcos, but to achieve a connection to every island, a network must connect miles and miles of submarine cables to keep the connections up and running.

However, the telcos should also avoid slapping high internet connection fees on consumers whose monthly salaries are far from the minimum. How will telcos encourage the average Juan to sign up for internet when prices are sky-high and service rates are ocean-deep?

Also, it’s time for the government to step up and offer more services online to save time lining up on queues on offices. Here’s a suggestion: Why not make the NTC create its facebook and twitter page, and open up an online channel for people who want to report their stolen devices? I wouldn’t waste my time going to NTC directly just to fill up some papers about my stolen phone. Also, it’s time that the NTC knows how much people are enraged about the status of the internet in the country today.

With that being said, should we expect a better internet connection this 2015? I hope we do. While it is deemed as a basic right, our right to stable, fast, and reliable internet connections should be emphasized, whether on prepaid or postpaid.

How about people in the rural areas who cannot afford to connect to the internet? There’s hope for that, as the DOST is upping its efforts to put up over 50,000 WiFi hotspots across the country and will roll out starting this month. More phones are gaining features such as WiFi that can be purchased under Php1000.

What are your expectations for internet in the country this year? Write down your thoughts at the comments section below.