Fierce rivals Globe Telecom and Smart Communications have both claimed that they own the fastest mobile speeds as reported by mobile metrics firm Ookla for the first quarter of 2021.
In a statement, Globe said it beat Smart across 10 out of 17 regions in the Philippines in terms of mobile download speed.
The Ayala-owned telco said it had the superior mobile download speeds in the following regions:
- Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM)
- Bicol
- Cagayan Valley
- Caraga
- Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR)
- Eastern Visayas
- Ilocos Region
- Northern Mindanao
- Region XII
- Zamboanga
These regions, it said, have been enjoying median mobile download speeds of at least 5.76 Mbps to 9.08 Mbps.
Overall, the mean mobile download speed for the Philippines improved 29.22% in Q1 2021, posting 24.72 Mbps compared to 19.13 Mbps in Q4 2020.
Smart, on the other hand, said it topped the same Ookla Internet testing and analysis, stressing that it has captured the title as the country’s fastest mobile network for the third year running.
“For this feat, Smart surpassed Globe in terms of Speed Score and average upload and download speeds for three years in a row since 2018, based on millions of consumer-initiated tests performed on Speedtest on LTE-capable devices in the Philippines,” the company said in a statement.
Smart said it was first awarded as the Philippines’ Speedtest Awards Winner for mobile network speed in 2018, when it posted a Speed Score of 15.06 compared to Globe’s Speed Score of 9.9.
In the said year, Smart said it also achieved average download speeds of 17.24 Mbps (versus Globe’s 11.10 Mbps), and average upload speeds of 8.11 Mbps (versus Globe’s 5.01 Mbps).
In 2019, Smart won again the Philippines’ Speedtest Awards for mobile network speed with a Speed Score of 17.4 versus Globe’s 10.65.
In the said period, Smart also achieved average download speeds of 19.62 Mbps (versus Globe’s 12.04 Mbps), and average upload speeds of 9.45 Mbps (versus Globe’s 4.92 Mbps).
In 2020, Ookla awarded Smart as the Speedtest Awards Winner in both the first and second half of the year.
Smart said it dominated in Q1-Q2 2020 with a Speed Score of 18.33 (versus Globe’s 12.35). Smart also achieved average download speeds of 15.94 Mbps (versus Globe’s 11.96 Mbps), and average upload speeds of 7.57 Mbps (versus Globe’s 4.03 Mbps).
Just recently, Smart said it was awarded by Ookla as the Speedtest Awards Winner in Q3-Q4 2020 with a Speed Score of 24.99 (versus Globe’s 15.30). Smart posted average download speeds of 20.08 Mbps (versus Globe’s 15.25 Mbps), and average upload speeds of 7.42 Mbps (versus Globe’s 4.11 Mbps).
