I hope I can get either Wendell or Qain's opinions regarding this issue. They seem to know their stuff. Hey, if anyone knows anything or has an opinion about this, jump right in.
In my country, the Philippines, Internet connectivity sucks. For someone like my mom who only likes to browse Facebook and share dog and baby videos the lag won't matter, but for me who freelances, plays online games, and depends my productivity on a decent Internet connection it can be a huge pain in the tushie. I pay roughly $36 per month for a 5-Mbit internet connection that is much moodier than my girlfriend during her period. To think we have BPO companies here, I don't know how this country stays afloat internally with that kind of infrastructure bogged down by a ton of crap (notwithstanding the hundred ton of crap we Filipinos are already dealing with, like corrupt bureaucracy, terrorism, petty crime, stupid and irrelevant economic statutes in our constitution, and overpopulation).
While browsing through Garena PH's forum I saw this Reddit thread (http://www.reddit.com/r/Philippines/comments/2aurzq/how_pldt_deliberately_keeps_local_internet) which discusses why the largest service provider in the Philippines single-handedly caused all of our problems regarding our Internet infrastructure. Can anyone knowledgeable about the macro-infrastructure of the Internet verify this? If it is true, then we have another definition of what "uncompetitive behavior" really is.
For those who want to get the gist, I'm now quoting the Reddit poster:
"The main problem why local traffic-exchange in Philippines is on a glacial speed when you connect to one of Garena’s rooms is because, PLDT DSL doesn’t let its customers share traffic with its peers like Globe, Sky or Bayan DSL. The company intentionally keeps the exchange through its own network.
The main reason why Filipinos are paying more for slower internet connection compared to other countries is because PLDT acts as the country’s own backbone, able to control all the flow of internet traffic from Philippines to the outside. ISPs are also required to pay PLDT for using its ‘fake’ backbone instead of relying to real backbone service providers like PACNET to properly handle the data exchange for this country.
Unfortunately, there's a slim chance for PLDT to fix this because: 1) If the company connects to Philippine's IX, Globe will have the upper hand on giving better service to its customers 2) If PLDT starts paying for a real backbone service, it will lose a chunk of its profit since it's currently acting as the country's network backbone enjoying unprecedented power on dictating how traffic exchange should be structured in Philippines, setting the price for internet bandwith [sic], plus, the annual cut it receives from ISPs paying for its 'one-of-a-kind' network."
In my opinion, this is disastrous for a developing economy like the Philippines. We are now on the verge of development, and the government itself encourages small and medium enterprises to contribute to the economy at large. With the development of cloud computing, many SMEs will opt for a third-party cloud solution to their data needs as it is economical in the long run, while business solutions assist the local business owner with their internet needs for communication, database management, and security. If this continues, it may cripple small entrepreneurs who rely on a stable, economical, and reliable Internet connection to support their businesses while they are forced to pay premium for a throttling broadband or DSL connection. This is not anymore a matter of lag on MMOs or if my mom's YouTube video stops for no reason; in my opinion, it is now a matter of economics and the empowerment of local business.
I hope I can get the community's opinion regarding this.