Major telecommunications companies improved their internet services in September, based on the monthly Speedtest Global Index for that month.
According to latest information released by internet speed testing service Speedtest, the average mobile download speed rose to 11.95 Mbps in the period from 10.47 Mbps in August. It was also much better compared to monitored average speed in September 2016 of 8.18 Mbps. Thus, the Philippines’ global ranking stepped up to No. 94 (out of 121 countries being monitored for this list) from No. 99 in September.
The top three countries in this list were Norway (57.94 Mbps average), the Netherlands (51.92 Mbps average), and Hungary (49.14 Mbps average). On the other end, the worst internet speeds were recorded in Iraq (No. 121 at 3.23 Mbps average), Bangladesh (No. 120 at 5.10 Mbps average), and Afghanistan (No. 119 at 6.17 Mbps average).
Average download speed of fixed broadband services nationwide rose to 13.41 Mbps in September from 13.29 Mbps in August. In comparison, the average speed was at 8.76 Mbps in September 2016. Thus, the Philippines’ rank in the list of top fixed broadband speeds globally inched up to No. 88 from No. 91 in the previous month (out of 131 countries monitored for this list).
The list for fastest fixed broadband services was ruled by Singapore (156.67 Mbps average), Hong Kong (145.75 Mbps average), and Iceland (127.11 Mbps average). The slowest speeds were recorded in September at Venezuela (No. 131 at 3.42 Mbps average), Libya (No. 130 at 3.45 Mbps average), and Algeria (No. 129 at 3.98 Mbps average).
Speedtest Global Index for a month is regularly updated at the start of the succeeding month. To make it to the each of the two lists (mobile and broadband), there must be at least 670 unique users contributing Speedtest results for mobile and at least 3,333 for fixed broadband.
In its analysis of the September results, Speedtest attributed mobile and broadband services improvements to President Rodrigo Duterte’s insistent calls for telecom firms to improve their respective services.
It should also be noted that the improvement occurred despite the fact that most internet service providers in the country had advised their subscribers in the second week of September about slower connections due to a three-week repair work of damaged international undersea cable links to Hong Kong, which were affected when a typhoon hit the city. (Such repair activities have already been completed as of press time.)
