Manila - Post Report Question and Answers
Is high-speed home Internet access available? How long does it typically take to install it after arrival?
High speed home internet is available and is down or throttled sometimes. Doesn’t seem great for work from home but streaming and surfing is fine. Install after arrival was within a couple weeks, but employer helps with the process. Doing it on my own would have been difficult. - Jul 2024
High speed internet is reliable and readily available through different providers. Cost is pretty reasonable too. It does take a while to get setup, you will be frustrated with that step. - Jul 2024
Yes, high speed internet is available. - Jun 2024
We have pretty good fiber for about $50 a month in our home (600 mbps) and installation took about a week to set up -- prepare to jump through bureaucratic hoops as with almost everything here. - Jun 2024
PLDT is the company. Internet took a couple days. Runs about $40 a month for 100gb speed. - Apr 2024
Yes it is. It took about 2 weeks to get internet installed. You can easily buy a temporary router (strong enough to power Netflix 4K) in the mall for $20 until your internet is installed. - Mar 2023
Available in the high rises but you may be limited to particular companies. It took about a month for my service to be set up. - Mar 2023
Absolutely. Mine was a headache to set up but I understand it has gotten much better. - May 2022
Some places are wired for fiber optic internet. It is very accessible but tends to take about a month to install. - Apr 2021
Internet is fine. You can stream, but during high periods, you may have some freezing. PLDT is the national carrier. You will need to be persistent and keep following up to get set up or a problem fixed. - Oct 2020
Fiber internet is good. It took two weeks to get ours. - Feb 2020
Yes, and is generally good. It took about one month to install internet and it cost 300 USD. - May 2018
Internet access varies wildly depending on your specific residence. The Filipino telecommunications infrastructure lags behind some of the other countries in the region, so speed and cost can vary wildly. Some buildings offer fiber-optic connections, with comparable speed to the US, for $100-125/month. Other buildings are DSL only, however, with much lower speed (although at lower cost). Installation times vary from a few days to a few weeks, depending on what your residence already has in place. - Feb 2017
It is available, but a headache. There is only one service provider, its a little bit on the steep side, and customer service is negligible. Fortunately the embassy Customer Care Center does a good job of helping employees navigate the process. - Jul 2016
Only in a couple buildings, otherwise it is a daily struggle to load something and it often shuts down for days at a time. - Jan 2016
Yes, but the network service is very frequently down. This is a huge frustration for many expats. Internet costs approximately $55 per month. - Jan 2016
It's expensive and it is very slow. But it works most of the time. - Jan 2016
Yes - Sep 2015
Yes, we pay about $100 a month for internet, phone and cable. - Aug 2015
Not very high speed. Ours promises 10Mbs, but it rarely gets that high. Cost is pretty high at around US$85/month. - Aug 2015
Yes but it's not super fast. - Sep 2014
The internet is available but it is not uncommon to lose internet service, and for it to be slower than expected. - Jan 2014
Yes US$100/month. - Dec 2013
Yes, US$50-90/month. - Nov 2013
We pay 4000 pesos [43 = US$1] for high speed internet. It's pretty decent, we also have a VPN and a Netflix account. We didn't bother getting cable. - Aug 2013
Yes, I think I paid 80 dollars for a 3 Mb/sec connection. - Apr 2013
Yes, ranging from US$25 to 75 a month. It is not fast and can stop working for hours -- or, rarely, days -- at a time. - Feb 2013
Yes, but it is expensive. We have a 12MB/S connection for $120/month. Fairly consistent speeds. - Sep 2012
Yes, about $20/month. - May 2012
We spend about $30/month for high speed internet. It's not the fastest, but also not the slowest by far. - Mar 2012
Yes, through the embassy. Not a bad price, but doesn't always work! - Jan 2012
Internet is available through DSL or Cable. Both are slower than the US but streaming video and phone calls work. It's about $50 for DSL, $100 for Cable/month. - Jul 2011
Yes, highest speed will cost around 3500 php/month (less than $100). Other packages are available for much less. - May 2011
Yes, we pay about $85/month. - May 2011
High-speed internet is readily available in Manila. Everywhere else, it is dialup. Prepare to pay $50-100 a month for high-speed. - Feb 2010
Internet access available..better in condos. Internet speed varies, never excellent, but functional - Jan 2010
High speed internet varies from condo to condo, although generally the cost is around $40-$50 per month. I have had quite a lot of problems with my internet going out, but some people have had few problems. - Jul 2009
Yes, not super reliable but about as reliable as Comcast in the US was. It costs us about US$50 a month for high speed internet. - Apr 2009
Yes. Prices vary dramatically based on the plan you choose, but it's fairly reasonable. - Jun 2008
