Chiller in Manila: Filipinos fume as snail-pace Internet leaves business on ice

A vendor uses a mobile phone to surf internet at a clothes shop in Paranaque, Metro Manila, Philippines July 7, 2016. Picture taken July 7, 2016. REUTERS/Erik De Castro

MANILA: Patrolling downtown Manila in his new Toyota, Uber driver Daniel Canezal is grumpy. It's not from the heat, grime or traffic of the capital's clogged streets – it's the Philippines' ramshackle Internet service that is making his life a misery. 

Since signing up with the ride-hailing app this year, the 61-year-old has lost count of fares missed because of patchy smartphone networks as one of Asia's fastest-growing economies labours with one of the region's slowest webs. "They should correct their services, it's embarrassing," said Canezal.