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


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