Telcos urged to put out more fiber optics

Telecommunications companies should lay out more fiber optics in cities and in the countryside to further enhance the internet service for mobile and broadband users.

“Improvement for fixed broadband speed may be attributed to telcos laying out fiber to homes and offices,” National Telecommunications Commission deputy commissioner Edgardo Cabarios said on Wednesday.

His comment comes after the latest Speedtest Global Index Report showed that the country’s average download speed for fixed broadband improved by 69.53 percent to 13.41Mbps in September 2017 from 7.91Mbps in July last year, while the average for mobile broadband also went up to 60.62 percent from 7.44MBps to 11.95Mbps during the same period.

For mobile broadband, Cabarios explained, the improvement was due to the constant rollout by Globe and Smart using the 700MHz frequency and the declining prices of smart phones that can receive LTE signals.

With the average speeds 13.41Mbps and 11.95Mbps, the Speedtest Global Index report said, business executives who frequently use instant messaging, send e-mail correspondences, browse web pages and send and receive digital photos can expect split-second download and transmission of data.

This means that a one-hour and 40-minute movie can be downloaded in less than 10 minutes, while a  three-minute song can also be downloaded in as fast as three seconds and a YouTube clip can only take two seconds to download.

Cabarios said the possibility of an improved telco service is expected amid the full implementation of the National Broadband Plan (NBP) under the Duterte administration.

“The NBP will definitely improve our fixed and mobile broadband substantially because government traffic can now be diverted to the national broadband network, freeing space in the telco networks,” Cabarios said. /je