PH ranks poorly in mobile internet connectivity

Neither the best nor the worst, the Philippines fell somewhere in the middle of 134 countries in terms of mobile internet connectivity, according to a new report of United Kingdom-based GSM Association.

GSMA, which represents about 800 mobile operators worldwide, launched its Mobile Connectivity Index showing that the Philippine ranked 65th worldwide in a list led by Australia, the Netherlands and Denmark. Singapore and South Korea ranked 13th and 14th, respectively.

The GSMA differentiated its index, which used 2014 data, from other measures, saying it was focused on mobile connectivity. It also considered specific enabling factors and covered 95 percent of the world’s population of about seven billion people.

One of its central features was the measure of four key enablers needed to drive  the growth of mobile internet.

These were infrastructure, or the availability of high-performance mobile internet coverage and affordability, which looked at the prices of handsets, a population’s income and taxes.

It also looked at consumer readiness, or those in the population with the necessary skills to use the internet, and content, or the availability of online content and services “that are accessible and relevant to the local population.”

The Philippines obtained an index score of 59.2, faring slightly better than Ecuador, Moldova and the Dominican Republic. In Southeast Asia, the Philippines did better than Vietnam (54.42)  and Indonesia (53.85) but fell behind Malaysia (65.37) and Thailand (63.05).

The country’s scores in terms of the four key indicators were in line with its index score, save for consumer readiness, which was noticeably higher at 75.6.

In terms of affordability, the Philippines got 62.6. It also scored 52.6 in terms of content and 49.2 in terms of infrastructure, which considers spectrum and mobile infrastructure.

GSMA said mobile internet networks mattered and were “essential” in the delivery of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals. GMSA said there were 3.24 billion people, or 44 percent of the global population, accessing the internet via mobile platforms as of the end of 2015.