MANILA — Nearly half of all households in the Philippines now have access to the internet at home, according to the latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), with the National Capital Region (NCR) leading both in connectivity and internet spending.

In 2024, 48.8 percent or approximately 13.56 million households reported having internet access at home—marking a sharp rise from just 17.7 percent in 2019. The PSA defines household internet access as connectivity generally available for use by all members at any time, regardless of actual usage.

Across regions, NCR recorded the highest percentage of connected households at 68.7 percent, followed by Central Luzon at 61.3 percent. In contrast, Zamboanga Peninsula (21.2%) and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) (27.7%) registered the lowest access rates.

Fixed wired broadband most common connection type

Among connected households, the most prevalent type of internet connection was fixed wired broadband at 58.8 percent. This was followed by mobile broadband at 39.3 percent and fixed wireless broadband at 11.6 percent. Satellite broadband was the least used at only 2.2 percent.

Internet spending drops slightly nationwide

Filipino households spent an average of PHP 1,069.10 per month on internet connection in 2024—a decrease of about PHP 211 from the 2019 average of PHP 1,280.59. Households in NCR reported the highest average monthly spending at PHP 1,290.90, while those in BARMM recorded the lowest at PHP 583.00.

67.3% of Filipinos aged 10+ use the internet

Among individuals aged 10 years and older, 67.3 percent—or around 61.46 million people—used the internet in 2024. NCR also had the highest percentage of individual internet users at 79.3 percent, followed by Cagayan Valley (74.9%) and Ilocos Region (74.3%). The lowest was again recorded in BARMM at 40.0 percent.

Home is top access point; cellphones the most used device

Home remained the primary location for internet access at 73.1 percent, followed by another person’s home (36.9%) and commercial establishments (30.2%). Public access venues such as libraries were the least used at 11.5 percent.

Cellphones were by far the most widely used device for internet access, with 98.8 percent of users relying on them. Other devices included laptops (14.7%), smart TVs (11.3%), desktops (10%), tablets (4.2%), and gaming consoles (2.5%).

Daily internet use, 4.6 hours on average

Most users accessed the internet daily (76.9%), spending an average of 4.6 hours online per day. NCR users spent the most time online at 6.1 hours daily, followed by CALABARZON (5.3 hours) and Western Visayas (4.5 hours). Cagayan Valley recorded the lowest average at 3.4 hours.

Making calls, social media top online activities

The top online activity was making calls, reported by 94.2 percent of users. This was followed by social media use at 87.3 percent and streaming or downloading media at 63.6 percent. Least common uses included participating in professional networks (4.4%), booking health appointments (5.4%), and applying for jobs online (6.6%).

High cost remains key barrier to access

For households without internet access, the most cited reason was the high cost of subscriptions (58.3%), followed by the high cost of equipment (37.5%). These were also the top reasons among individuals aged 10 and over who did not use the internet, with 41.7 percent citing subscription costs and 33.2 percent pointing to equipment expenses.