Internet speed satisfaction in PH falls – Deloitte survey
NEARLY eight out of 10 Filipinos check their mobile phones within 15 minutes after waking up, displaying a higher propensity of usage compared to Southeast Asian neighbors.
Yet, there was a drop in Filipino respondents who are satisfied with their Internet speeds – to 39 percent in 2015 from 49 percent in 2014 amid reports that the country has the second slowest Internet speed in the Asia-Pacific region, according to Deloitte’s Global Mobile Consumer Survey.
The research, which was released by Navarro Amper & Co., the local member firm of Deloitte Southeast Asia Ltd. on Friday, also noted that only 38 percent of Filipino consumers were satisfied with their data volumes, albeit this was an increase from last year’s 31.2 percent.
When it comes to Internet speeds, consumers elsewhere across Southeast Asia are generally satisfied with their service providers but they want greater data volumes in their plans.
The Deloitte study showed that more than half of mobile phone users in Southeast Asia check their phones within 15 minutes after waking up but among Filipinos, the percentage is higher at 79 percent.
Filipinos also glance at their mobile screens repeatedly, using their phones most frequently when commuting on public transport, the research said.
It was also noted that compared to other SEA countries, in the Philippines there’s a significant proportion of users – 31 percent – who listen to online radio via their smartphones.
The research also showed that in Southeast Asia, Instant Messaging (IM) has emerged as the most popular messaging tool, with IM usage increasing and SMS (short messaging system) decreasing across the board – except in the Philippines.
Filipinos still prefer to use SMS (73 percent), but those who use IM (33 percent) turn to Facebook Messenger instead of pure Over-The-Top (OTT) IM services to communicate, the research said.
In the Philippines, IM users mostly use Facebook Messenger, an app that has been downloaded three times more than Skype and 10 times more than WhatsApp.
The popularity of IM is seen gaining ground in the region, with Filipinos finding it a convenient option for chatting with friends and family overseas.
“Telecommunication operators can take advantage of this situation to increase revenues from data usage,” said Greg Navarro, managing partner and chief executive officer of Navarro Amper & Co. “They can, for example, tailor chat packages to specific IM applications that are widely used in their respective local markets.”
The survey also revealed that Internet network reliability is the top consideration for Filipinos when choosing a mobile operator, followed by price package and 4G/LTE network availability. Even consumers who are satisfied with their internet connection may change operators for either of these factors, which makes sense considering how reliant consumers are on their phones.
Respondents were also asked how they connect to the internet based on their location. Eighty-two percent of Filipino respondents said they use Wi-Fi at home, in the workplace, or their place of study; only 25 percent of Filipino respondents use Wi-Fi in public places.
“Again, there’s an opportunity here for telecom operators to monetize Wi-Fi for consumers on public transport facilities,” said Navarro. “And with the government’s project to provide free Wi-Fi in underserved areas of the country, it will be interesting to see how these statistics and behaviors change over the next few years.”
Another capability seen worth exploring for telcos is mobile payment. Across the Southeast Asian countries polled, majority of respondents are willing to use mobile-based, in-store payment solutions. In the Philippines, the study showed that 62 percent of respondents are willing to give it a try – but these respondents said there is a lack of availability of such solutions, and when it is available, it entails slower processing times compared to cash or credit card transactions.
“Telecom operators that want to take advantage of this functionality need to offer solutions that enable simple and quick transactions. They also need to improve payment security, so that consumers can be comfortable using mobile payments even for big ticket transactions, and expand the number of point-of-sale terminals that accept mobile payments,” said Navarro.
The Deloitte survey was conducted in the third quarter of 2015, covering 49,500 consumers across 31 countries to reveal some of the trending attitudes and behaviors of today’s mobile consumer. In Southeast Asia, 6,000 respondents from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines (1,000 respondents), Singapore, and Thailand were polled.
UK-based Deloitte provides audit, consulting, financial advisory, risk management, tax and related services to public and private clients spanning multiple industries. It has a global network across more than 150 countries and territories.//30
