| Country | Number of Internet subscribers |
| Japan | 5,100,000 |
| Taiwan | 800,000 |
| Hong Kong | 400,000 |
| China | 320,000 |
| South Korea | 200,000 |
| Philippines | 150,000 |
| India | 100,000 |
| Singapore | 100,000 |
| Thailand | 100,000 |
| Malaysia | 60,000 |
| Indonesia | 30,000 |
If adding these numbers together, there is a total of 7.36 million accounts which results in an estimated 22.08 million users in Asia in 1998. Nua Internet Surveys, however, estimates that there were 25.57 million people in Asia online in 1998. As stated above, following this projection of three users for every registered account, this results in an estimated 450,000 users for the 150,000 accounts in 1998 in the Philippines.
The total number of Internet users in the Asia-Pacific region is expected to grow to 44.7 million users by 2002. Research group, International Data Corporation (IDC), projects the growth of Philippine users to reach 590,000 by 2001 and 900,000 users by 2002.7
The Philippine Communications Satellite Corporation (Philcomsat) conducted a survey on Internet usage among 974 Filipino business professionals in 1999. The survey showed that 60% of Internet subscribers in the Philippines are not satisfied with their current service due to frequent disconnections, busy signals or slow downloading times.
Electronic mail makes up the most of Internet usage in the Philippines at 88%, then web surfing at 60%. Internet chats came in at 29% and newsgroups at 17%. The survey also showed that downloading files in the Philippines is still the most popular of uses of the Internet.8
The Internet Software Consortium sponsors an Internet Domain Survey which attempts to discover every host on the Internet by doing a complete search of the Domain Name system. Technical operations of the survey are subcontracted to Network Wizards. Survey results show that the number of hosts in the Philippines domain (.ph) is still relatively small, almost reaching 10,000 by 1999. However, several businesses within the country are also using the dot com domain which this number does not account for.
Number of hosts in the .ph (Philippines) domain9
July 1999
| Domain |
Number of Hosts |
All Hosts | Duplicate Names |
Level 2 Domains |
Level 3 Domains |
| .ph domain | 9,942 | 10,019 | 77 | 9 | 344 |
| Total | 56,218,330 | 63,019,061 | 6,800,731 | 1,638,115 | 17,299,119 |
Internet Service Providers in the Philippines
The number of Philippine ISPs increased from 19 in 1995 to 88 in 1996, and to over 160 by the end of 1997.
The number of ISPs in the country is now estimated to be around 190. Of the 129 registered ISPs in early 1997, about 25 of them had a primary connection to the Global Internet.10
Because of the increased competition in Philippine ISPs, various companies are pushing different avenues to their advantage to increase the number of Internet users in their region. WebQuest launched the Internet aXess card to provide telephone services over the Internet while PhilWorld boasts access to the International Gateway via an MCI direct line to the United States with speeds of 1024 Kbps and provides local speeds based on T3 lines.11
InfoCom Technologies, Inc., the leading ISP of the Philippines, is the Internet service provider of PLDT (Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company), the dominant telecommunications company in the Philippines. As of July 1999, InfoCom handled more than 15,000 dial up customers and about 130 corporate clients with dedicated leased-line connections. By the end of 1999, InfoCom targets a dial-up customer base of about 25,000 and 200 corporate accounts.
MosCom Internet, established in June 1994, was the first commercial ISP in the Philippines.
In 1998, ISDN and V.90 56Kbps dial up services were introduced by MosCom in selected areas. By the end of 1997, MosCom grew to six offices. MosCom is continuously increasing both the bandwidth of its domestic infrastructure as well as the number of Internet Points of Presence (PoPs), with almost 70 PoPs and counting.12
MosCom's network (MosNet) is now probably the largest spanning network across all regions of the Philippines. Its domestic high-speed backbone currently connects Makati, Pasig, Cebu, and Davao using multiple E1 (2.048 Mbps) lines. Internationally, MosCom has a 3 Mbps line to MCI and another T1 (1.544 Mbps) line to UUNet. Toward the end of 1999, MosCom attained broadband capability up to 45 Mbps (T3). Its current Frame Relay backbone shall be upgraded to an Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) backbone. It also has a North American presence (MosComUSA) in Sunnyvale, California directly connected through multiple high capacity international private leased lines to the Philippines.13
In the near future, MosCom hopes to have another T1 line to the United States via Sprint and a T1 link to the ABONE (Asian Backbone) via Tokyo. Satellite based access will also be deployed to connect clients in remote areas and two more E1 lines connecting MosCom Manila and MosCom Cebu will be installed to handle more traffic. MosCom has also prepared for implementation of future services such as IP telephony, ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) and ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) to be the leading ISP in cutting edge technology in the Philippines.14
The first Philippine Internet Exchange (PhIX) was launched in July 1997. PhIX is a network access point that allows ISPs to exchange local Internet traffic within the Philippines without having to connect to host servers overseas. The PhIX was established by PLDT and interconnects Infocom, IPhil, Moscom, Virtualink and Worldtel.
Other major service providers with contact information and basic pricings for services are listed below. Consumer Basic prices are based on a standard dial-up, or comparable service, with data speeds at 14.4Kbps or otherwise stated. Rates are monthly fees for approximately 60 hours per month. Additional hour rates run between 45-75 PhP (US$1.13-$1.88) depending on the plan signed up for. Corporate Basic rates are based on a leased-line, or comparable service, with data speeds at 128Kbps or otherwise stated. Rates are subject to change. If interested in obtaining Internet service in the Philippines, contact the ISP directly for current information and pricing plans.15
| Internet Service Provider | Costs | |
|---|---|---|
| Consumer Basic | Corporate Basic | |
|
AlphaNet, Inc. 3/F PDAF Bldg. Sen Gil Puyat Ave. Brgy.Bel-Air Makati City, Philippines Tel. No. + 63 (2) 897-8579 / 897-8580 / 897-8592 Fax. No. +63 (2) 897-8585 |
Not Available |
45,000 PhP (US$1,125) One-time fee of 50,000 PhP (US$1,250) |
|
Amanet AMANET Incorporated 7860 Amanet Bldg. Makati Ave. cor Kalayaan Ave. Makati City, Philippines Tel No. +63 (2) 896-5857 Fax No. +63 (2) 890-4136 |
1,350 PhP (US$33.75) |
45,000 PhP (US$1,125) One-time fee of 45,000 PhP (US$1,125) |
|
Axcess Technologies, Inc. Axcess Technologies, Inc. (AXTI) Unit-G 6th Floor Westgate Office Tower Investment Drive Madrigal Business Park Ayala Alabang Muntinlupa City, Philippines Tel No. +63 (2) 809-9901 / 807-7997 / 807-8555 |
1,800 PhP (US$45) | Not Available |
|
Compass Internet 24/F Galleria Corporate Center EDSA corner Ortigaas Avenue Quezon City, Philippines Tel No. +63 (2) 636-5091 to 92 Fax No. +63 (2) 636-5092 |
56Kbps: 2,400 PhP (US$60) |
US$1,950 One-time fee of 35,000 PhP (US$875) |
|
Destiny Inc. Destiny Inc. 2285 Pasong Tamo Ext. Makati City 1231 Philippines Tel. No. +63 (2) 867-9000 Fax No. +63 (2) 813-0237 |
Cable modems only: 1,895 PhP (US$47.38) One-time fee of 3,000 PhP (US$75) |
Cable modems only: 2,500 PhP (US$62.50) One-time fee to purchase modem 12,500 PhP (US$312.50) |
|
Earthgate Information Services Suite 302, Omm Bldg. San Miguel Ave. Ortigas Center Pasig City Philippines Tel. No. +63 (2) 638-8037 to 40 Fax No. +63 (2) 638-8035 |
1,500 PhP (US$37.50) One-time fee of 4,500 PhP (US$112.50) |
10,000 PhP (US$250.00) One-time fee of 12,500 PhP (US$312.50) and 30,000 PhP in advance (US$750.00) |
|
EpicNet EPiCnet, Executive Power Center 24th Floor, Pacific Star Building Sen. G. Puyat cor. Makati Avenue 1200 Makati City, Philippines Tel. No. +63 (2) 811-5985 / 811-6007 / 811-6239 Fax No. +63 (2) 811-6001 |
2,626.80 PhP (US$65.67) One-time fee of 500 PhP (US$12.50) |
Not Available |
| Evoserve Penthouse, TEXTRON Building 168 Luna Mencias St. San Juan, Metro Manila Philippines Tel. No. +63 (2) 726-7701 to 02 / 718-2222 Fax No. +63 (2) 724-8121 |
1,900 PhP (US$47.50) One-time fee of 500 PhP (US$12.50) |
Not Available |
| FapeNet Ground Floor, Concorde Condominium Cor. Salcedo & Benavidez Sts. Legaspi Village, Makati City, Philippines M.C.P.O. Box 2144 Makati City 1299 Tel. No. +63 (2) 892-8911 to 18 Fax No. +63 (2) 812-2364 |
33.6 Kbps or higher: 1,200 PhP (US$30) One-time fee of 1,000 PhP (US$25) |
45,000 PhP (US$1,125) One-time fee of 50,000 PhP (US$1,250) |
| iConnect 7th floor 116 Herrera Street Legaspi Village, Makati City Philippines Tel. No. +63 (2) 812-8023 to 24 Fax No. +63 (2) 810-3614 |
1,700 PhP (US$42.50) |
Shared 64K: 37,000 PhP (US$925) One-time fee of 37,000 PhP (US$925) |
| Infocom Technologies, Inc. Unit 2B, Trafalgar Plaza, H.V. Dela Costa Street Salcedo Village, Makati City Philippines Tel. No. +63 (2) 848-3801 to 06 |
1,600 PhP (US$40) | Not Available |
| Internet Manila I-Manila Customer Care Center Unit 008, Level 3, Robinson's Galleria Expansion Mall, EDSA cor. Ortigas, QC. Tel. No. +63 (2) 632-7096 / 632-7054 Fax No. +63 (2) 632-7096 |
1,485 PhP (US$37.13) One-time fee of 1,980 PhP (US$49.50) |
Not Available |
| IPhil Communications Network, Inc. 5th Floor, 116 Herrera St. Legaspi Village, Makati City Philippines 1229 Tel No. +63 (2) 750-2288 Fax No. +63 (2) 750-4947 |
Not Available | Not Available |
| Jetlink.com Zamboanga Branch Ground Floor GV Bldg., Veterans Ave. Zamboanga City, Philippines Tel. No. +63 (062) 992-1342 Fax No. +63 (062) 992-1343 |
1,388 PhP (US$34.70) One-time fee of 2,000 PhP (US$50) |
Not Available |
| MosCom Internet Suite 601/602, The Peak Tower 107 Alfaro Street Salcedo village, Makati City Philippines Tel. No. +63 (2) 848-2606 Fax No. +63 (2) 840-4434 / 810-0909 |
2,100 PhP (US$52.50) One-time fee of 750 PhP (US$18.75) |
US$1,500 One-time fee of 45,000 PhP (US$1,125) |
| NetQuest Systems Company |
1,200 PhP (US$30) One-time fee of 1,500 PhP (US$37.50) |
US$1,500 One-time fee of 45,000 PhP (US$1,125) |
| Pacific Internet 3/F, The Taipan Place Emerald Avenue Ortigas Center Pasig City, Philippines 1600 Tel. No. +63 (2) 637-1700 Fax No. +63 (2) 637-0600 |
1,540 PhP (US$38.50) One-time fee of 935 PhP (US$23.38) |
61,875 PhP (US$1,546.88) One-time fee of 68,750 PhP (US$1,718.75) |
| PhilWorld Online #7 Wilson St. Corner Pasteur St Philippines Tel. No. +63 (32) 233-8055 / 233-8056-59 Fax No. +63 (32) 233-8056-59 (ask for fax tone) |
1,400 PhP (US$35) One-time fee of 600 PhP (US$15) |
Not Available |
| Portal Inc. Suite 222, Atrium Building Makati Avenue, City of Makati Metro Manila, Philippines 1200 Tel. No. +63 (2) 811-4104 to 08 Fax. No. +63 (2) 811-4096 |
1,700 PhP (US$42.50) | Not Available |
| Tridel Technologies Unit J1, 2/F Avocado Lane, Virra Mall Greenhills, San Juan Metro Manila Philippines Tel. No. +63 (2) 721-0808 |
1,485 PhP (US$37.13) One-time fee of 1,980 PhP (US$49.50) |
Not Available |
| Virtual International Corporation Suite 1105, One Magnificent Mile Condominium 13 San Miguel Avenue Ortigas Center, Pasig City 1600 Philippines Tel. No. +63 (2) 637-5625 to 30 Fax No. +63 (2) 637-5631 |
Not Available | Not Available |
| WorldTel Philippines 118 Gamboa St., Legaspi Village Makati City, Philippines Tel. No. +63 (2) 840-4166 to 68 Fax No. +63 (2) 894-5083 |
Not Available | Not Available |
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