Image: INQUIRER.net stock photo
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines’ internet speed for mobile improved yet again in September although it slightly slowed down for broadband during the same period, the latest Ookla Speedtest Global Index has shown.
According to the international internet speed monitor, the Philippines’ mobile internet speed registered a 3.73 percent increase last month at 35.03 megabits per second (Mbps). In August, the country had a mobile internet speed of 33.7 Mbps.
As for broadband, Ookla’s speed test indicated a small slack to 71.85 Mbps in September from 72.56 Mbps in the previous month.
But the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) said the September record still represents an improvement of 808.34 percent since 2016.
With these numbers, the Philippines rose one spot from 73rd to 72nd among 138 countries in terms of mobile internet speed and places 64th out of 181 countries in terms of broadband internet speed.
In Asia, the Philippines’ internet speed placed 23rd for mobile and 17th for fixed broadband out of 50 countries in the region. While in the Asia-Pacific, the Philippines ranked 13th for mobile and 14th for fixed broadband among 46 countries.
In the ASEAN, the Philippines ranks 5th in both mobile and broadband internet speeds out of 10 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
As of April this year, the country has 24,614 cellular towers including the 10,941 towers of Globe, 10,433 towers of Smart, and 3,240 towers of DITO, according to the NTC.
RELATED STORY
Ookla claims PH internet speeds improved in August