We need a faster Internet

Eight of the 10 cities with the fastest Internet connections are in Japan. The other two, at numbers four and eight, are in South Korea. Meanwhile, the three countries with the highest download speeds are South Korea, Hong Kong and Japan. The rest of the top 10 are European countries. Being connected to the Internet is a requisite of modernization. Countries that are wired (or, more aptly, wireless), are said to be more technologically advanced than others. Directly proportional, some studies claim, are economies because approximately two to three jobs are created—and only one is lost—when a company goes through modernization. One of the Internet's most useful features is the ability to transmit information at breakneck speeds. Industries today rely on the medium to communicate instantly, leading to quicker processing times and, ultimately, getting more things done. Developing countries such as the Philippines benefit from this technology through the business process outsourcing industry, where individuals are employed by local firms that service overseas clients. Small- and medium-scale industries are also at an advantage because they have the ability to conduct and market their businesses via the Internet and actually compete with industry giants and leaders. Consumers and end-users, on the other hand, are given more options to choose from and find the best deals. The Internet has also made it easy for freelancers to be hired remotely by employers from all over the world. Web sites such as oDesk and LinkedIn provide contractors and clients with a venue to meet, interact and work together. These are the reasons that countries with a lot of manpower need faster Internet connections. The Philippines is nowhere in the list of highest connection speeds. A lot of places—malls and coffee shops, specifically—are offering free WiFi, but these services only suited for moderate and leisurely use. At home, broadband connections average at 1Mbps and at most offices, download speeds aren't any better. The Philippines, even with medieval Internet connections, is extremely tech-savvy. We are the social networking capital of the world and are among the most prolific users of social media. Hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of Filipinos have Internet-based jobs, either employed at BPOs, in the different IT and creative/marketing/design fields, in online retail or independently using the Web as their virtual office. Imagine how far we can go and what else we can do with faster Internet.