The study, which analyzed 17,065,628,107 datapoints collected from 500,687 users of the OpenSignal app for Android and iOS, put the Philippines at the bottom of the list. The country ranked 75th out of 78 countries, edging only India (6.39Mbps), Saudi Arabia (5.97Mbps), and Costa Rica (5.82Mbps).
Our Southeast Asian neighbors fared better. LTE speeds in Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, and Indonesia clocked in at 15.80Mbps, 15.73Mbps, 13.43Mbps, and 8.79Mbps, respectively. And we’re not surprised that Singapore, which recorded an average connection speed of 45.86Mbps, came out on top; it also got the fastest 4G speed in OpenSignal‘s previous State of LTE report.
• SEE ALSO: PH has second-worst internet speed in APAC in Q2 2016 — report
Check out this chart that shows the average download connection speed that users in each country saw when connecting to LTE networks.
Average download connection speed that users in each country saw when connecting to LTE networks
We were hoping to see a specific operator metrics, which were still revealed in the State of LTE report OpenSignal published in February 2016. It would have been nice to see how Globe Telecom and Smart Communications performed individually. But this time, OpenSignal opted to focus its global reports on how countries perform overall and just delve into operator-specific rankings in its State of Mobile Networks country-level reports.
4G availability
The same study also revealed the period of time subscribers in each country had access to LTE — whether indoors or out, in a city or in the countryside — and the results still showed the Philippines as one of the bottom-dwellers.
Look at the chart below. We ranked 74th out of 78 countries with our 44.80 percent 4G availability, surpassing only Ireland (43.45), Ecuador (42.56), Lebanon (41.53), and Sri Lanka (40.27).
How consistently accessible 4G networks are in each country
Both Globe and Smart have claimed to invest heavily in LTE, even acquiring San Miguel Corporation’s telco assets, which included the prized 700Mhz frequency. Take note that the lower the band, the greater the coverage. Personally, we’re already feeling its effect on our Globe mobile connection in the Bonifacio Global City area, where we live. However, we feel that the rollout has been slow. Really, as we’ve said, our telcos and the government must work together to give us the fast, consistent mobile-internet connection we deserve.
Video you may want to watch
World’s first 5G mobile device by BBC Click
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