August 23, 2022 | 00:00
MANILA, Philippines – Filipinos enjoyed improved internet speed for mobile and fixed broadband in July thanks to improved products and services rolled out by major players in the telecom industry.
According to Ookla’s Speedtest Global Index, mobile internet speed in the Philippines accelerated by 5% to 22.56 Mbps in July from 21.41 Mbps in June.
Despite this, the country has its work cut out to reach the global median speed of 30.78 Mbps, with the United Arab Emirates (120.35 Mbps), Qatar (117.43 Mbps) and South Korea (109 .65 Mbps) in the lead.
Similarly, fixed broadband speed in the Philippines jumped 10% to 75.62 Mbps in July from 68.94 Mbps in June. The country managed to beat the global median speed of 67.25 Mbps compared to Chile’s 212.98 Mbps, Singapore’s 211.36 Mbps and Thailand’s 189.14 Mbps.
For the month, Ookla said the Philippines moved up four notches, from 88th to 84th place, among 140 economies for mobile internet speed. The country also moved up seven places, from 53rd to 46th, on a list of 182 nations for fixed broadband.
Industry players are investing in multi-billion peso projects to expand their network performance to support the Marcos administration’s efforts for universal connectivity.
Last week, PLDT Inc.’s wireless arm, Smart Communications Inc., was awarded Best Mobile Network by Ookla, the first local mobile operator to earn the citation since the Speedtest Award was launched in 2017.
To earn this recognition, a mobile operator must lead in two of the highest categories of Ookla’s Speedtest Award, namely fastest mobile network and best mobile coverage, for the same period.
For the first half of the year, Ookla declared Smart the winner for best mobile coverage for the Philippines, with the company scoring 794 to its closest rival’s 732. During the period, Smart also became the fastest mobile network with a speed rating of 62.22 against 32.48 for its next competitor.
In July, Smart’s parent company PLDT activated its Jupiter P7 billion cable system to boost its international capacity to 60 terabits per second. Globe Telecom Inc., led by Ayala, has for its part started building the longest fiber optic cable network in the country with the aim of having it operational by April 2023.
Dennis Uy’s Dito Telecommunity Inc. also expanded its subscription base to 11 million in July, as it nears its goal of ending the year with at least 12 million users.
For 2022, Globe, PLDT and Dito have allocated 89 billion pesos, 85 billion pesos and 50 billion pesos respectively for their capital expenditures, especially for infrastructure upgrades.
