Philippine Internet 'Mediocre', Ranks 98th in Terms of Affordability: Surfshark

Internet quality in the Philippines is "comparatively mediocre" and is among the least affordable worldwide despite improvements over a one-year period, a global study covering 117 countries showed.

The Philippines ranks 98th out of 117 countries in terms of internet affordability, with Filipinos having to work around 11 hours and five minutes on average to afford fixed broadband service, according to cybersecurity platform SurfShark for its Digital Quality of Life Index 2022.

"...The Philippines' weakest spot is internet affordability, which needs to improve by 4300% to match the best-ranking country's result (Israel's)," SurfShark said in its report.

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To afford 1GB of mobile internet in the Philippines, Filipinos have to work for around four minutes and 51 seconds which is 21% more than in Indonesia, the study showed.

Despite having one of the most least affordable internet bills, SurfShark said internet quality in the Philippines is only around the same as the global average, ranking 45th in the index and is "comparatively mediocre". Internet quality refers to speed, stability, and growth. 

The study reviews countries based on five pillars--internet affordability, internet quality, electronic infrastructure, electronic security, and electronic government--to assess the digital quality of life. 

For the e-government, e-infrastructure, and e-security pillars, the Philippines ranked 62nd, 65th, and 44th respectively. 

Overall, the Philippines ranked 14th in Asia and 55th in the global index--seven notches lower than its 2021 ranking.

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