PHL Posts 20% Growth in Mobile Internet Connection Speed for 1Q 2017

The Philippines has consistently improved its average mobile Internet connection speeds and steadily gained on the adoption of broadband Internet in the country.

The Philippines has posted a 20 percent growth in average connection speeds for the first quarter of 2017, together with Thailand and China leading the Asia Pacific region based on the State of the Internet Q12017 report of AKAMAI.

AKAMAI, a leading content delivery network services provider for media and software delivery and cloud security solution, said the country’s average connection speed for Q1 2017 at 5.5 megabits per second (Mbps)- a 20 percent increase quarter on quarter (QoQ) and 57 percent year on year (YoY), shows a consistent improvement in the Philippines’ average mobile connection speed.

For the past three quarters of 2016, the AKAMAI State of the Internet Report showed a consistent improvement in the Philippines’ average mobile connection speed.

In the second quarter of 2016, the country’s average mobile connection speed was pegged by AKAMAI at 8.5Mbps. In the third quarter of the same year, the outfit reported that the country’s average mobile connection speed increased to 13.9Mbps.

AKAMAI then reported that the Philippines mobile internet speed clocked at 14.3Mbps in the fourth quarter of 2016.

The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) has earlier stated that the improvement in mobile Internet speed was due to the ongoing deployment of Long Term Evolution (LTE) cell sites throughout the country by Globe and Smart through utilizing the 700 megahertz (MHz) frequency spectrum which were acquired from the telco assets of San Miguel Corporation (SMC) last year.

AKAMAI has also cited improvements on the broadband adoption in the country.

On the “above 4 Mbps broadband adoption” category, the Philippines’ adoption rate is now at 39%, representing a growth rate for the country of 26%QoQ and 111% YoY.

On the “above 10 Mbps broadband adoption” category, the Philippines’ adoption rate is now at 11%, representing a growth rate for the country of 53% QoQ and 330% YoY.

On the “above 15 mbps broadband adoption” category, the Philippines’ adoption is now at 6.2% adoption, representing a growth rate for the country 72% QoQ and 509% YoY.

AKAMAI believes that the implementation of the national broadband program would help further improve the delivery of Internet services in the country.

“Although the Philippines has the lowest ranking among Asia Pacific countries/regions for this metric, as well as some of the broadband adoption metrics, first quarter announcements suggest it may see improvements to its infrastructure in coming years, as Philippine President Duterte approved a plan to deploy a national broadband network at an estimated cost of USD 1.5 billion to USD 4.0 billion (77 billion to 200 billion pesos). The network will be used to host a national portal and other online government services, as well as to connect remote areas of the country that are underserved by existing broadband providers. Deployment could begin as early as June, with a three- to five-year timeline for completion.” (Aerol B. Patena/PNA)