PH internet improves but still behind global average, ASEAN neighbors: tracker

MANILA (UPDATE) - Internet connectivity improved in the Philippines but the country still falls below the global average in terms of mobile and fixed-line broadband speeds, industry tracker Ookla said based on its Speedtest Global Index. 

Ookla said that the country ranks 107th out of 176 countries in terms of fixed broadband, and 111th out of 139 countries in mobile internet. 

The company based its ranking on the results of its Speedtest utility that measures download speeds, upload speeds and latency. 

Ookla said the global average for fixed broadband is 87.84 megabits per second (Mbps) for download, 47.16 Mbps for uploads, and latency of 21 milliseconds (ms). Latency is the time it takes for data to be transferred between its original source and its destination, with lower latency preferred.

The Philippines’ average speed for fixed lines is 27.07 Mbps for downloads, 27 Mbps for uploads, with a latency of 27 ms. 

Singapore leads globally in the quality of fixed broadband. Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and Laos all have faster internet speeds than the Philippines for fixed broadband. 

For mobile internet, the global average is 39.18 Mbps for downloads, 11.63 Mbps for uploads, with a latency of 38 ms. 

The Philippines’ average speed for mobile is 17.83 Mbps for downloads, 5.41 Mbps for uploads, with a latency of 36 ms. 

South Korea takes the top rank in mobile internet quality. Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia all outrank the Philippines in mobile internet speeds.

Data for the Speedtest Global Index comes from the hundreds of millions of tests taken by real people using Speedtest every month, Ookla said.

The company however noted that download speeds for fixed broadband in the Philippines have increased 477 percent from 3.18 Mbps in the third quarter of 2016 to 18.35 Mbps in the same period this year. 

The average download speed for mobile also increased 99.1 percent over the last four years.

The Philippine government's move to reduce red tape in building new cell towers drove the network improvements, Ookla said, adding that these improvements should continue to place higher in the global rankings.

"The Philippines will need to continue removing barriers to infrastructure enhancements and increasing connectivity across the country in order to improve these rankings," it added.

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October data showed PLDT's fixed broadband speed at 24.67 Mbps for the second and third quarter period of the year. Converge ICT had 22.44 Mbps, SKY Broadband at 18.25 Mbps, and Globe at 9.74 Mbps.

For mobile, Smart had a speed of 19.97 Mbps while Globe posted 13.47 Mbps.

Over a four year period, the country saw nearly 5 times or 477 percent improvement in broadband download speed to 18.35 Mbps in the third quarter from the 3.18 Mbps in the same quarter in 2016, Ookla said.

Likewise, mobile download speed rose 99.1 percent to around 9 Mbps compared to 4 Mbps in third quarter of 2016.

Telecommunications companies PLDT-Smart, Globe, DITO Telecommunity, Converge ICT and NOW Group earlier announced their respective plans to roll out faster 5G networks. 

Next year will be the launching of new telco entrants such as DITO Telecommunity, Converge ICT and RED Broadband.

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