Smart Communications Inc. overtook its rival in terms of 4G coverage, speed and experience in the latest report by independent mobile analytics firm Opensignal.
The report, which covers the period Jan. 1 to Mar. 31, 2021, showed Smart beating the competition across all metrics in three essential aspects of service: coverage (4G coverage experience, 4G availability), speed (download and upload speed) and experience (games, video and voice app).
This is the first time an operator in the Philippines won decisively in all categories.
“This breakthrough validates our unrelenting work towards delivering the best experience to our customers across the country, and gives us renewed energy to stay the course,” Smart Communications president and chief executive Al Panlilio said.
"We are no longer benchmarking ourselves with local competition but with other telcos in the region. By doing this, we are not just improving Smart but also the internet speed of the Philippines," he said.
Across regions, Smart clinched a commanding lead in all categories, particularly in terms of Games Experience, where it dominated over its competitor in every region.
Smart also sustained its lead in video experience. "Smart’s score of 60.9 points out of 100 for Video Experience was higher than Globe’s score of 53.1. As a result, Smart’s winning streak since we introduced this award to the Philippines in March 2019 remains unbroken," Opensignal said.
Smart also remains ahead in 4G availability, which is defined as the proportion of time 4G users spend connected to 4G or LTE and terms of 4G coverage experience, a measure of how mobile subscribers experience 4G coverage on an operator’s network.