According to the most recent Ookla data, the Philippines’ mobile internet speeds improved even more in November, with the country rising four places to 90th out of 138 countries.
Its mobile internet median download speed increased to 18.68 megabits per second (Mbps) from 18.21 Mbps in October. The mobile upload speed increased from 5.39 Mbps to 5.64 Mbps.
According to Ookla, the network testing company behind Speedtest, mobile internet latency, which measures how quickly a device receives a response after its user sends out a request, remained at 24 milliseconds (ms).
Slow and unreliable internet connections have been cited by experts in the Southeast Asian country, whose people are said to be among the most active social media users in the world.
In the third quarter, Smart Communications, Inc., the wireless arm of PLDT, Inc., topped Ookla’s speed rankings in the Philippines. With a score of 59.71 on modern chipsets, it was the fastest mobile operator. Smart also had the lowest latency, at 20 milliseconds.
Globe Telecom, Inc. received a score of 28.38, while DITO Telecommunity Corp., a new telecommunications player, received a score of 25.34. Globe’s median latency was 25 milliseconds, while DITO’s was 24 milliseconds.
Smart also had the fastest median download speed for 5G connections, at 217.03 Mbps, followed by Globe at 114.12 Mbps.
Caloocan City had the fastest median mobile download speed of the country’s most populous cities, at 22.05 Mbps, followed by Quezon City (20.93 Mbps), Manila (18.80 Mbps), Cebu City (15.09 Mbps), and Davao City (14.23 Mbps).
According to GlobalData, a data analytics and consulting firm based in the United Kingdom, the Philippine mobile service market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.6 percent to $5.4 billion by 2026.
This is primarily due to “rising adoption of mobile data services,” according to the company’s website.
“Mobile data revenue will grow at the fastest CAGR of 6.6% between 2021 and 2026, due to growing 4G subscriptions and the planned rollout of 5G services.”
Meanwhile, the country’s fixed broadband ranking fell one spot in November, to 72nd out of 181 countries. However, download speed increased for the month to 46.44 Mbps from 45.52 Mbps in October.
The upload speed of fixed broadband increased to 38.14 Mbps in October, up from 37.16 Mbps in October. Latency remained constant at 6 ms.
According to GlobalData, the market for fixed-line telecommunication services in the Philippines is expected to reach $4.7 billion by 2026, representing a CAGR of 5% from a starting point of $3.6 billion this year.
GlobalData anticipates healthy growth in broadband subscriptions and rising broadband average revenue per user.
According to Hrushikesh Mahananda, a telecommunication analyst at GlobalData, digital subscriber lines will remain the “dominant fixed broadband technology with 36.7 percent share of total fixed broadband subscriptions in 2021, but will gradually lose market share over the forecast period.”
“Fiber broadband lines, on the other hand, will increase at a robust CAGR of 17.2% over the forecast period, supported by government and operator investments in fiber network infrastructure and fiber to the home service expansions,” he added.