Manila: A lawmaker is calling for an inquiry into the reason internet connection speed in the Philippines is relatively slow compared to other Asian countries.

“There is a need to address this alarming and poor state of internet service in the country as it impacts on consumer welfare [productivity], right to information and ultimately on our economy,” Representative Mike Villar of Las Piñas City said as he filed House Resolution 1658.

In the resolution, Villar urged the House Committee on Information and Communication Technology to conduct an inquiry on how to improve the country’s poor internet connection.

Citing a report from the Massachusetts-based Akamai Technologies Inc, Villar said internet connection in the Philippines has an average transmission speed of just 2.1 megabits per second (Mbps).

“The data from another internet metric firm, Ookia, show that the Philippines have a general average speed of only 3.55 Mbps,” the lawmaker said.

According to Villar, the Philippines’ 3.6 Mbps internet speed, lags behind Laos’ (4 Mbps), Indonesia’s (4.1 Mbps), Myanmar and Brunei’s (4.9 Mbps), Malaysia’s (5.5 Mbps), as well as Cambodia’s (5.7 Mbps).

Singapore has the fastest internet speed in the region (61 Mbps) while Thailand has 17.7 Mbps, and Vietnam has 13.1 Mbps.

But Villar said the irony is that while the Philippines has the slowest internet speed in the region, it charges one of the highest rates for the service among members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) bloc.

Citing a report from the Akamai, Villar said local consumers shell out a monthly P1,000 (Dh82.16) for their 2 Mbps internet subscription.

Villar said that on the Mbps/subscription cost comparison, the Philippines lags behind other countries in Asia, particularly Singapore, which charges an equivalent P1,312 (Dh107.79) per month for a 15 Mbps connection and Thailand, which charges P1,000 per month for a 12 Mbps subscription.

For the average subscriber, cheaper and faster internet transmission speeds means the capability to download data quicker and zero waiting time data transmission speeds. For overseas Filipino workers who take to the computer or their mobile phones to talk to their loved ones and friends, being online means lag- and interruption-free conversations.

Earlier, in April this year, Senator Bam Aquino had filed a similar resolution in the Senate.

Aquino called on government to take the initiative to improve the state of electronic communications in the country.

“[A] slow internet connection adversely affects ease of doing business and hampers the advancement of telecommunication services and facilities in all areas of the country.

“We should provide an environment for the emergence of communications structures that will benefit the vast majority of consumers in the country, which has a broad economic growth geared towards increasing competition,” Aquino stressed.