The Philippines has jumped 14 notches in the global index of mobile Internet connection speeds but remains one of the laggards among the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).
Citing the latest figures from The Speedtest Global Index that are updated monthly, Makati City representative Luis Campos Jr. said on Thursday, Jan. 21, that the Philippines now ranks 96th worldwide in December, with an average mobile Internet speed of 22.50 megabits per second (Mbps).
In November, the Philippines’ 18.49 Mbps average mobile Internet speed ranked it 110th in a field of 139 countries, according to Campos.
Among Asean members, the Philippines advanced from second to third slowest, with only Cambodia and Indonesia having more sluggish mobile Internet speeds at 19.22 Mbps and 17.26 Mbps, respectively.
Cambodia and Indonesia ranked No. 113 and No. 121 worldwide, respectively. Thailand had the biggest surge in mobile Internet speed – from 42.80 Mbps in November to 51.75 Mbps in December.
As a result, Thailand soared to No. 33 worldwide from No. 44 and now has the second fastest mobile Internet speed in ASEAN, next only to Singapore, which ranked No. 21 with 66.82 Mbps.
Worldwide, Qatar with 178.01 Mbps vaulted two notches to emerge No. 1, dislodging the United Arab Emirates, with 177.52 Mbps, from the top spot and reducing previous second placer South Korea to No. 3, with 169.03 Mbps.
In the fixed broadband, the Philippines’ average speed also improved slightly from 28.69 Mbps to 31.44 Mbps, enabling the country to move up three notches to No. 100 worldwide.
Thailand with 308.35 Mbps leaped two notches and is now No.1 worldwide in fixed broadband speed, overtaking Singapore’s 245.31 Mbps and Hong Kong’s 226.80 Mbps.
“Our mobile Internet speed is improving, but it is clearly improving at a snail’s pace,” Campos said. “We are counting on further political pressure from Malacañang, coupled with Dito Telecommunity’s launch of commercial operations this March, to help drive Internet speeds faster in the months ahead.
Telecommunications companies were due to submit Wednesday, Jan. 20, their rollout plans on how to improve their Internet speeds as ordered by regulators. The submissions are in accordance with the government’s directive to boost Internet services amid increased traffic due to work-from-home arrangements and online classes, according to the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC).
