The Philippines has made a significant improvement on its fifth generation (5G) download speed compared with the 4G speed, according to the latest data from Opensignal.
Opensignal’s Benchmarking the 5G Experience in Asia Pacific report this June showed t all the markets in the region see a much faster average download speed using 5G compared with the older 4G network technology.
The Philippines and Taiwan have improved their 5G services compared to 4G by 10.4 times, better than other Asia Pacific countries, with 9.9 percent improvement in Thailand, 6.4 percent in South Korea, 5.4 percent in Australia, 5.3 percent in Hong Kong, 3.8 percent in Japan and 2.9 percent in Singapore.
This is comparing early versions of 5G technology with the latest iteration of 4G, which follows over 10 years of gradual improvements in 4G technology since the launch of the first 4G networks back in 2009/2010, according to Opensignal.
The Philippines ranked six among eight countries in Asia Pacific for 5G download speed and 5G peak download speed of 141.7 megabits per second (Mbps) and 426.2 Mbps, respectively. However, the country is the lowest in terms of 5G upload speed with 12.1 Mbps.
“In both the download speed and video experience uplifts, smartphone users in the Philippines have seen the greatest improvement in experience using 5G,” Opensignal said.
It added that given the much larger geographic area of the markets, both the Philippines and Australia have impressive results. It said 5G users in both markets spend 10 percent of their time connected to 5G, and experience 5G in almost one-third of locations, with 5G reach scores of 3.0 and 2.9, respectively.
Over the next decade, 5G will improve, and the 5G mobile experience will widen the gap with the previous mobile generation, especially as operators deploy mmWave 5G more widely in the region.
Local telecom players, PLDT Inc. wireless unit Smart Communications Inc. and Globe Telecom Inc., have been aggressively expanding 5G services in the country to deliver faster mobile internet services.
To date, Smart has fired up more than 3,000 5G sites across the country, including sites in Metro Manila, Angeles City, Baguio City, Cavite City, Cebu City, Clark City and Davao City, as well as Batangas, Bacolod, Boracay, Cagayan de Oro, Laguna, Pampanga, Pangasinan and Quezon.
Globe’s 5G network covers 84 percent of Metro Manila, expanding to a total of 1,383 sites including Bacolod, Boracay, Cebu, Iloilo, Cagayan de Oro and Davao as of end-March this year.
Globe’s total builds for wireless expansion which includes both 4G Long Term Evolution and 5G reached 4,210 sites in the first quarter of 2021, up by 106 percent from a year ago.
Both telecom operators are expanding their 5G roaming services through partnerships with international telco providers in Asia, Middle East, United States and Europe. – Myla Iglesias
