LINGAYEN – Why is internet speed so slow?

This was the question uppermost in the minds of the members of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) when they conducted an inquiry into the quality and speed of the internet service of major internets service providers (ISP) in the province last week.

Vice-Governor Jose Ferdinand Z. Calimlim, Jr. said the probe was in response to complaints and clamor for improved service from the ISPs of the citizenry who feel shortchanged due to their collective “slow speed” internet subscription experience.

“This is not the voice of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan alone. This is the voice of the entire populace of Pangasinan,” he clarified.

Among the four companies invited by the august body to the question hour, only the Philippine Long Distance Telecommunications Company, the owner of Smart and Sun, sent its representative, Pangasinan operations manager Marlon Molano.

Globe Telecommunications, Inc., on the other hand, requested for one-month preparation before facing the provincial legislature.

Six board members, particularly Fifth District Board Member Clemente Arboleda, took turns seeking answers and explanations from Molano.

Arboleda, a resident of Urdaneta City, presented a seven-day speed log record of varying internet speed of his subscription to PLDT that all came short of meeting the 15 megabyte per second (mbps) speed plan he said he has been paying for.

Responding to the board member, Molano explained that PLDT is continuously rehabilitating the “out-of-shape” facilities it has acquired in Central Pangasinan.

He added PLDT is set to roll out 120 projects in Pangasinan next year that will upgrade and expand weatherproof cable operation coverage for more stable internet connection for its 40, 000 subscribers in the province.

“From one to ten, how would you rate your service?” Board Member Raul Sison asked Molano.  “A seven, sir…,” came Molano’s reply.

A peeved Calimlim told off Molano: “If you compare your service to the rest of the world, as already said by Sebastian Duterte (in a social media post), we have a crappy internet service here. We also know that when we go out-of-the-country, even in the remotest areas, the internet is fast and is free of charge. But here, it is already paid yet it does not measure up.” (RMCL_PIO)

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