Philippines saw huge uplift in 5G speeds vs 4G – Opensignal

Opensignal recently released their “Benchmarking the 5G Experience” report in March which shows a huge uplift in 5G speeds for the Philippines.

According to Opensignal, the Philippines’ 5G Download Speed vs. 4G improvement ratio is 8.9 was faster than Thailand (7.5), Taiwan (7.2), South Korea (6.3), New Zealand (6), Hong Kong (5.1), Australia (4.6), Indonesia (4.5), Singapore (4), and Japan (3.4).

It also had the biggest improvement in video experience, with Filipino users enjoying a 33% better video experience on 5G over 4G. The Philippines had an average 5G Download Speed of 136.6 Mbps during the data collection period from November 1, 2021, to January 29, 2022.

In terms of 5G versus 4G Video Experience improvement, the Philippines’ 33% was better than Indonesia (29%), Thailand (23%), Hong Kong (18%), Taiwan (14%), New Zealand (13%), Australia (12%), Singapore (9%), South Korea (7%), and Japan (6%).

The Philippines also scored on average 77.1 out of 100 for 5G Video Experience, 63.7 for 5G Games Experience, and 77.5 for 5G Voice App Experience.

Opensignal said that 5G technology continues to mature as a technology, as operators expand the extent of their 5G services. This is achieved by expanding the geographic reach, deploying 5G on new spectrum bands that improve speed and capacity, or by boosting in-building signal propagation and rural reach through lower frequency bands for 5G.

Although 5G Availability and 5G Reach in the Philippines are lower than most of its neighbors, Opensignal still considered it impressive given the challenging landscape of the country. The Philippines posted on average 11.1% 5G Availability and 3.7 out of 10 for 5G Reach.

One of the country’s top telcos, Globe, commented that it continues to improve and expand its network, stating that it has earmarked P89 billion for its capital expenditures to accelerate 5G rollout, build new cell sites, upgrade existing sites to 4G/LTE, and ramp up the fiberization of Filipino homes nationwide.

“We intend to meet the growing demand for faster connectivity, lower latency, and higher bandwidth which 5G technology can offer. 5G has the potential to transform lives and drive new investment opportunities. We want to be ready when that shift happens,” said Ernest Cu, Globe President and CEO.