It has been 32 years since the Philippines have started connecting to the internet. What used to be a niche suddenly becomes an essential and integral part of the Filipinos’ daily lives and means of livelihood.
The 1994 Breakthrough Explained: How Did The Internet Start in the Philippines?
The Philippines was first connected to the internet by Filipino engineer Benjamin Tan after establishing a connection at a network center in Makati. He connected to a US-based provider through a 64-kilobits-per-second line.
This is just the beginning of a boom as the country positioned itself not only as one of the most avid users of the internet but also one of the savviest especially in social media adoption.
In 2024, 99.7% of the Filipino internet base used at least one social media platform with Facebook as the leading app of choice.
By January 2025, the digital economy of the Philippines is valued at $35.4 billion or 8.4% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of 2023.
Cebu, Davao, Bacolod as Emerging Hubs: How Did Internet Access Spread Beyond Metro Manila?
Affordability and accessibility became the name of the game in a mobile-first model. From easy-to-access Android devices to prepaid mobile data plans, Filipinos were able to break through the fixed line broadband connection arrangement.
Broadband eventually matured and more internet service providers competed in offering the best packages to users. With this new emergence, next wave cities outside of Metro Manila included Bacolod, Sta. Rosa, Dumaguete, Davao, Cagayan de Oro, Baguio, Iloilo, Lipa, Clark, Malolos, and Laoag.
Many major telcos and local ISPs such as the Kabankalan Community Antenna Television, Inc (KCAT) have expanded their fiber broadband network offerings in these cities. Many of these new wave hubs quickly evolved to respond to the strong demand and boom of the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry in the country.
More telcos have expanded and built provincial centers to make internet accessibility much easier. This third wave is driven by tourism, BPO, and small enterprises.
What To Expect in 2027 and Beyond?
Connectivity in the Philippines is only expected to scale bigger by 2027. The government will invest an estimated P6 trillion to expand internet connectivity nationwide by improving governance, bettering infrastructure, meaningful access, and stronger resilience.
As stipulated in the National Digital Connectivity Plan (NDCP), the opportunity divide can be beaten by providing Filipinos with fast, reliable, and affordable internet by 2028. Alongside free Public WiFi, broadband subscriptions will soon be replaced with Fiber while satellite service usage grew by 228% in 2024.