RP lags behind in global broadband speed test

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines ranks 72nd in the world in Internet connection speed, according to recent test results from speedtest.net.

Speedtest.net offers a broadband speed analysis tool that allows anyone anywhere in the world to test their Internet connection. It started broadband speed tests in August 2006 and now averages over 20 million tests a month.

According to the speedtest.net website, the test measures three factors to determine the overall quality of the Internet connection — download speed (or the speed at which data are sent from the Internet to the computer), upload speed (or the speed at which data are sent from the computer to the Internet), and Ping or latency (the time it takes in milliseconds for a small piece of data to be sent from the computer to the Internet and back.)

The most recent worldwide test results show that the average download speed in the Philippines is only 2.34 Mbps, while the average upload speed is 0.65 Mbps. This makes the Philippines 72nd in the worldwide rankings for download speed, and 65th for upload speed.

Clearly, the Philippines lags behind its Asian neighbors South Korea and Japan, which topped the worldwide ranking in download speed. Hong Kong, on the other hand, was in 11th place.

Average download speed in South Korea is 20.94 Mbps, and in Japan and Hong Kong, 15.77 Mbps and 9.56 Mbps, respectively.

South Korea, however, is not the top country in the world for upload speed, but Japan is still the world’s second best, trailing behind Lithuania, which topped the worldwide ranking for upload speed.

Japan has an average upload speed of 7.06 Mbps, while South Korea only has a speed of 2.93 Mbps, lower than Hong Kong’s 4.89 Mbps. Top country Lithuania has an average upload speed of 8.83 Mbps.

Asian countries actually dominated the rest of the world in upload speed with an overall speed of 1.70 Mbps, but European countries have faster download speeds averaging 6.43 Mbps.

A report released by the Com-munications Workers of America and speedmatters.org cited a study made by the California Broadband Task Force, which shows various capabilities of different Internet speed ranges.

According to the study, a speed of 500 Kbps to 1 Mbps can give users the capability to do basic e-mail, browse simple websites, and stream music and low-quality videos.

A speed of between 1 Mbps and 5 Mbps, on the other hand, will already enable users to browse more complex sites, send and receive e-mails with larger attachments, share small and medium files, stream music, and watch digital broadcast video on one channel.

The Philippines’ average download and upload speed of 2.34 Mbps and 0.65 Mbps, respectively, can more or less do these functions.

In countries, however, like South Korea and Japan where Internet connection speeds average between 15 Mbps and 20 Mbps, applications like telemedicine, educational services, standard and high-definition video, high-quality telepresence, high-definition surveillance, and smart or intelligent building control are possible.