internet is very important to any developing country especially in today's modernized/ technology based world.
Philippines was graded no. 7 among Asia's top
internet countries, this was based from the Internet World Stats acquisitions. Despite of this claim, countries like U.S.A, Japan, Korea and other third world countries are still a far fetched in terms of digitization. The quality of internet connection in the Philippines is said to be slow and poor. This is one of the reasons why our country is loosing it's footing in globalization. A report pointed out that only a privileged few (7.1%) actually enjoy broadband-speed connectivity, a stark contrast to that of neighbors like Malaysia (22%), Singapore (67%), and Thailand (70%). If Philippine ISPs do not feel the need to catch up with their Asian counterparts, they ought to improve service for their clients. According to Ericson's Consumer Lab survey, Filipino consumers feel that internet service in the country leaves much to be desired, and they are willing to shell out more moneyfor better service quality depending on how they use broadband and for particular circumstances. This begs the question: Arent consumers already paying enough for broadband? Or is slow internet caused by poor infrastructure combined with the telcos business practice of over subscription? In a broader context, this top Facebook user-country (ranked 8th in the world) has sadly remained a straggler in
exploiting ICTs full potential. The latest
Networked Readiness Index (NRI) ranked the Philippines at no. 86 (out of 142 countries)its worst performance in five years, starting from no. 69 (out of 122) in 2006. The NRIs sub-indices point to some national issues that give a clearer picture of why and how the Philippines has failed to leverage ICT to boost its competitiveness. Under the environment subindex (quality of political and regulatory environment, as well as business and innovation environment), the Philippines scored lower than most of its Southeast Asian neighbors and even a few low-income African and Latin American nations. This poor ranking could mean the absence of a policy framework that helps expand ICT access and allows the best possible use technology. This is not surprising given the absence of a central government agency to oversee ICT development in the country. It also suggests that doing business could be tough, with problems like excessive red tape and uncertain intellectual property protection, among others. In terms of readiness (infrastructure and digital content, affordability, and skills), the Philippines scored better globally, but still lower than Indonesia and Thailand. This may partly explain why these countries continue to attract investments far more successfully than the Philippines. The Philippines fell behind its Southeast Asian neighbors when it came to ICT usage. How is ICT being utilized for meaningful everyday use by individuals, business, and government? Does ICT usage end in sending an average of 1.8 billion text messages a
day or immense fascination with virtual
social networking? To what extent are business entities utilizing ICT? Does the government prioritize ICT? How many online government services are being offered? If the Philippines internet and ICT were to ever catch up with the rest of the world, many questions need to be addressed. The answers may not come easy, but it is important to never stop asking.