MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines registered another improvement in its average internet speed for both broadband and mobile, according to the latest analysis of Speedtest.net by international internet speed monitoring firm Ookla.
Based on Ookla’s recent Global Index report, the Philippines’ average internet download speed for fixed broadband increased from 66.55 megabits per second (Mbps) in June 2021 to 71.17 Mbps in July.
According to the National Telecommunications Commission, this represents a month-to-month improvement of 6.94 percent for fixed broadband.
Now, the Philippines ranks 63rd out of 180 countries in terms of broadband internet speed.
As for mobile internet speed, the Global Index report indicated that the Philippines’ improved from 32.84 Mbps in June to 33.69 Mbps in July, allowing the country to land in the 72nd spot out of 139 countries.
From Ookla
From Ookla
The July improvement in mobile internet, the NTC noted, shows a month-to-month improvement of 2.59 percent.
But of the 50 countries in Asia, the Philippines is in 17th place for broadband internet speed and 23rd for mobile internet speed, according to the international internet speed monitoring firm.
In the ASEAN, the country ranks 5th in both fixed broadband and mobile out of the regional bloc’s 10 member countries.
The NTC attributed the improvements in the country’s internet speeds to President Rodrigo Duterte’s directive in July last year, which highlighted the need for swift processing of local government permits so additional cellular towers would be built to improve communication and connectivity nationwide.
READ: Duterte warns Smart, Globe of expropriation
From July 2020 to April 2021, a total of 2,789 LGU permits were issued to telcos, which is a 294 percent increase compared to a total of only 1,636 LGU permits issued in 2019.
READ: PH’s telco infra improves amid speedy issuances of LGU permits
Currently, the country has a total of 24,614 cellular towers, including the 10,941 towers of Globe; 10,433 towers of Smart; and 3,240 towers of DITO, the NTC said.
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