Internet access cost dropping fast in RP--Solon

By Erwin Lemuel Oliva, INQ7.net

THE COST of dial-up and broadband Internet services is going down fast in the Philippines, Catanduanes congressman Joseph Santiago observed on Monday.

The cost of an unlimited Internet dial-up account bundled with phone service is 840 pesos a month, he said, citing Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) rates.

The growing popularity of broadband access has forced traditional dial-up Internet service providers (ISPs) to reduce monthly rates, Santiago said, noting that "Actually, the cheapest dial-up Internet access now is P160 monthly.”

That bundled PLDT service costing P840 monthly covers basic monthly landline service and unlimited Internet access. A landline residential subscriber paying about 680 pesos monthly would have to add just P160 to get unlimited dial-up Internet access.

Independent dial-up services even offer unlimited Internet access services for as low as 13.30 pesos per day or 399 pesos a month. Previously, the cheapest Internet service was about 25.00 pesos a day or 748 a month.

Santiago, who is vice chairman of the House transportation and communications committee, further said that inexpensive Internet access is expected to draw more subscribers this year.

PLDT for one reported about 76,000 broadband Internet subscribers as of September 2005, an increase of 54 percent over its 49,500 users in September 2004. Smart Communications Inc. and Globe Telecom Inc. had about 20,000 wireless broadband subscribers at the time.

The market research firm International Data Corp. projects Internet users in the Philippines to double from 11.8 million at the end 2004 to an estimated 20 million by 2007