Average internet speed in PH ‘improved’ in May — Ookla

MANILA, Philippines — An increase in the average internet speed in the Philippines was reported by international internet speed monitoring firm, Speedtest.net by Ookla, for the month of May.

Speedtest said that the latest download speeds represent a monthly improvement of 19.1 percent for fixed broadband and 9.8 percent for mobile internet speeds during the month of May.

In its Global Index report, the Philippines’ average internet download speed for fixed broadband increased from 49.31 megabits per second (Mbps) last April to 58.73 Mbps in May 2021.

Meanwhile, mobile speed’s average download speed also increased from 29.12 Mbps to 31.97 Mbps.

According to the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), this improvement came after President Rodrigo Duterte’s directive in July 2020 highlighting the need for swift processing of LGU permits so additional cellular towers would be built to improve communication and connectivity in the country.

Since then, there has been a significant increase in the issuance of permits from July 2020 to April 2021.

The NTC said that as of January to April 2021, 2,789 LGU permits have already been issued to telcos, which is a 294 percent increase compared to a total of only 1,636 LGU permits issued in 2019.

It added that the country now has a total of 24,614 cellular towers to date. Globe with 10,941 towers; Smart,10,433; and DITO with 3,240.

JPV