Why Philippine internet speeds are slow?

The Philippines' average peak internet connection speed is faster than that of China and several countries in the Asia-Pacific region but its low use of broadband technology -- as well as high costs for internet users compared to other countries -- mean slow average connection speeds for consumers.

The Philippines had an average peak internet connection speed of 32.6 megabits per second (Mbps) in the 4th quarter of 2013, representing a 103% quarter-on-quarter growth and a 144% rise from the same period in 2012, said Massachusetts-based Akamai Technologies Inc. in its State of the Internet report released Wednesday.

Hong Kong topped the Asia-Pacific list with 68 Mbps, followed by South Korea (64.4 Mbps), Singapore (59.1 Mbps), and Japan (53.7 Mbps).

Ranking below the Philippines in average peak internet connection speed were Malaysia (30 Mbps), New Zealand (21.6 Mbps), China (13.8 Mbps), Vietnam (12.6 Mbps), Indonesia (12.5 Mbps), and India (10.9 Mbps).

Hong Kong also topped the global list, followed by South Korea and Singapore.

"Similar to the quarter-over-quarter changes, the largest yearly increase was seen in the Philippines, which grew 144% from the fourth quarter of 2012," the Akamai report said, adding that it was the only country to see its speed double on a yearly basis.

However, the Philippines' average connection speed per user was only around 2Mbps during the period, compared to South Korea's 21.9 Mbps, Japan's 12.8 Mbps, Hong Kong's 12.2 Mbps, Taiwan's 8.3 Mbps, and Singapore's 7.9 Mbps.

Only Vietnam, Indonesia, and India ranked below the Philippines in average connection speed.

Akamai said the average connection speed in the Philippines grew 11% quarter-on-quarter and 42% year-on-year.

Globally, the average Internet speed grew 27% year-over-year to 3.8 Mbps, while mobile traffic jumped by 70%.

The Philippines also lagged behind in high broadband (more than 10 Mbps) and broadband (more than 4 Mbps) connectivity, the report said.

The country only had a 0.2% high broadband connectivity and 3.6% broadband connectivity during the period.

In comparison, South Korea had the highest level of high broadband adoption, with 71% of connections to Akamai at speeds above 10 Mbps.

It added that South Korea reached near-universal broadband adoption (94%) in the last quarter of 2013.

Other areas in Asia Pacific increased broadband use while the broadband adoption rate in the Philippines remained stuck well below 10%.