Internet speeds are on the rise in the Philippines. According to the latest reports from the Ookla Speedtest Global Index, the Philippines has jumped 15% to an average of 68.94 Mbps for fixed broadband internet speeds, pushing the country above the global median 66.25 Mbps.

Network upgrades, new infrastructure, and more competition among telco operators are at the forefront of these improvements, according to Ookla principal industry analyst Sylwia Kechiche.

The Philippines has become a hotbed of internet infrastructure over the last few years, with new developments, regulations, and competition in the market leading to increased mobile and fixed broadband internet performance across the country.

Improvements in Mobile Speeds and Coverage

While mobile internet speeds remain below the global median of 31.01 Mbps, they still rose by 11% to 21.41 Mbps in June (up from 19.26 Mbps in May). This growth pushes the Philippines to the 88th position for mobile speeds out of 139 countries in the report.

4G speeds in particular saw large improvements with new companies like Dito launching their residential mobile service, while 5G availability also rose with easing of Right of Way (RoW) rules and further network investment from larger telcos.

Metro Manila is at the forefront of these improvements in mobile performance, with 4G availability and speeds significantly higher in Caloocan, Quezon City, and Manila.

5G on the Rise

As one of the pillars of the National Broadband Plan, mobile networks are crucial to the ongoing digital transformation of the Philippines. While originally focused on 3G and 4G networks, the government has rolled out technologically neutral policy to allow for further 5G deployment.

Apart from the release of 5G spectrum in 3.3 GHz and 3.5 GHz bands (considered the sweet spot in terms of 5G network capacity and coverage), a wide range of blocks of spectrum have been awarded on a technology-neutral basis and are suitable for 5G usage. These increases will allow service providers to handle an increased volume of data traffic and deliver higher speeds to end users.

Country-level 5G Availability almost doubled within a space of a year; from 9.4% in Q1 2021 to 18.1% in Q1 2022, with over 3.6 million unique connected devices between the two major telcos. More improvements to 5G speeds are expected, with significant investment in infrastructure and services from both local and international sources.

Customer Satisfaction Improves 

Faster, more reliable internet speeds have led to more internet users in the Philippines reporting higher rates of satisfaction with their internet provider. Customer perception of the top mobile operators in the Philippines has risen to an average of 3.4 / 5 among Speed Test users, indicating that better speeds directly impact customer perception of operators. 

The internet has greatly improved in the Philippines over the last few years, but there are still many improvements to be made. Internet service providers are constantly looking to upgrade their infrastructure and expand their networks, providing faster speeds, increased bandwidth, and lower prices to their customers.

Has your internet speed improved in the last few months? Talk to RISE today to find out how you can get fast, reliable internet for your business.

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