The latest Ookla Speedtest Global Index report showed that the country’s fixed broadband average download speed significantly improved 8 notches in global ranking.
The highest monthly improvement in speed since the beginning of the Duterte administration, the 5.73Mbps increase from 32.73Mbps in January to 38.46Mbps in February 2021 represents a monthly increase of 17.51% and a 386.22% increase from the country’s download speed of 7.91Mbps back in July 2016.
The Philippines’ fixed broadband speed now ranks 92nd from 100th last January among countries tested.
Mobile network overall performance also improved the country’s global ranking by 3 notches, now placing the Philippines 83rd from 86th last January among countries tested.
The country yielded an average download speed of 26.24Mbps, showing an increase of 252.68% from its speed of 7.44Mbps back in July 2016.
Massive improvements in mobile speeds in previous months were also noted when the Philippines’ global rank in December 2020 went up 14 notches and up by another 10 notches in January 2021.
Out of 140 countries, Philippine mobile speed was at 86th spot in January 2021 from 111th in the same period in 2020, outpacing countries like Russia, Malaysia and Indonesia.
In Asia, the marked improvement in internet speed places the country 24th for fixed broadband and 25th for mobile out of 50 countries. In Asia-Pacific, the Philippines ranks 18th for fixed broadband and 14th for mobile out of 46 countries.
The country now ranks 6th for both fixed broadband and mobile out of 10 ASEAN countries.
The improvement in the country’s internet speed comes after the President’s directive last July 2020 on the need to expedite the facilitation of LGU permits in relation to building cellular towers. Since then, there has been a significant increase in the issuance of permits from July 2020 to February 2021.
Last 8 March 2021, DITO Telecommunity launched commercially in key areas in the Visayas and Mindanao. The country’s third major targets its operations to be felt in Metro Manila by mid-2021.
Further improvement in internet speed is expected as telco market competition intensifies with DITO’s entry.