MANILA - Internet speeds using the LTE frequency have plateaued worldwide, as telecommunications companies focused more on expanding their reach, according to an industry monitor.

Out of 88 territories included in London-based OpenSignal's report, the Philippines ranked 85th in terms of LTE speed and 75th in terms of LTE availability.

The Philippines had average LTE or 4G speeds of 9.49 Mbps with a reach of 63.73 percent, OpenSignal said.

The study included 58.8 billion measurements on 4.85 million devices from Oct. 1 to Dec. 29, 2017 OpenSignal said on its website.

President Rodrigo Duterte's government is fast-tracking the establishment of a third telecommunications player to improve connections and bring down costs for subscribers.

A separate study by Speedtest in October last year said internet speeds in the country have improved since the President took over.

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South Korea had the widest LTE availability while Singapore led the world in terms of speed, OpenSignal said.

The fastest LTE connections "plateaued" at 45 Mbps, according to the study.

"For the last several global reports, we've failed to see any sizable increase in 4G speeds among the top performing countries, and the Holy Grail of 50 Mbps remains just as elusive," it said.

The top 10 countries with the widest LTE availability, according to OpenSignal, are:

1. South Korea
2. Japan
3. Norway
4. Hong Kong
5. US
6. Netherlands
7. Hungary
8. Kuwait
9. Lithuania
10. Czech Republic

In terms of LTE speed, the top 10 countries are:

1. Singapore
2. Netherlands
3. Norway
4. South Korea
5. Hungary
6. Belgium
7. Australia
8. New Zealand
9. Bulgaria
10. Denmark