PH internet speed moves up in global rankings

by Manila Times, 17 Jun 2021

THE country’s internet speed has greatly improved and it has moved up in global rankings, according to the Ookla Speedtest Global Index Report.

In its May 2021 report, Ookla said the Philippines’ average download speed for fixed broadband is 58.73Mbps, which represented a 15-notch monthly increase. For mobile, the speed is 31.97Mbps, up by 7 notches.

The country’s monthly improvement in speed was the third best globally in both categories, the report said.

Ookla is the global leader in fixed broadband and mobile network testing applications, data and analysis.

The country’s fixed broadband speed now ranks 65th out of 180 countries. For mobile, it ranked 77th out of 137 countries.

In November 2020, the country’s average download speeds for fixed broadband ranked 103rd and 110th for mobile globally.

The significant progress in ranking was attributed to the government’s all-out support in expediting the release of local government units (LGUs) permits required for the improvement of telco infrastructure.

Out of 50 countries in Asia, the country’s internet speed now placed 17th for fixed broadband and 23rd for mobile. Meanwhile, in Asia-Pacific, the Philippines ranked 14th for fixed broadband and 12th for mobile out of 46 countries.

In ASEAN, the country ranked 5th in both fixed broadband and mobile out of 10 countries.

The fixed broadband download speed represents an improvement of 642.50 percent since the Duterte administration took over in July 2016. Meanwhile, the latest mobile speed represents an improvement of 329.70 percent.

Improvements of telco infrastructure is expected to continue as more local government units comply with the Joint Memorandum Circular signed by the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and other government agencies on the speedy release of permits and licenses.

The National Telecommunications Commission, PLDT, Globe, Converge and DITO welcomed the Department of Public Works and Highways’ move to allow telecommunication companies to occupy a portion of the government’s Right of Way (ROW) to ensure internet connectivity throughout the country. The policy will ramp up telco infrastructure projects especially along national roads.

With the the recent entry of DITO Telecommunity, Globe and Smart are set to increase their capital expenditures this year.

Globe is set to spend P70 billion and Smart P92 billion – the highest annually for each telco for the past six years.

Converge, is also expected to increase its capital expenditure from P19 billion in 2020 to P20 billion this year.