Internet speed improves in November 

Philippine internet speed slightly improved in November as the country climbed the global ranking in terms of both mobile and fixed broadband, based on Ookla's Speedtest Global Index, according to a report by GMA News.

The latest speed test conducted by Ookla ranked Philippine mobile speed at 110th out of 160 countries with 18.49 megabits per second (Mbps) for downloads, a notch above the 111th spot in October when speeds were only at 17.83 Mbps.

Meanwhile, upload speeds were recorded at 5.29 Mbps in November, slower than the 5.41 Mbps in October, and the 7.52 Mbps reported in October 2019.

Advertisement

For fixed broadband, Ookla ranked the Philippines at 103rd, with download speeds of 28.69 Mbps versus 27.07 Mbps in October; while upload speeds were recorded at 28.65 Mbps from 27.00 Mbps the previous month.

Ookla's speed test compares internet speed data from across the globe on a monthly bases, with data coming from hundreds of millions of tests taken using the Speedtest every month.

The test takes into consideration at least 300 test results for mobile or fixed broadband in the reported month, leveraging a testing infrastructure with over 10,000 servers in more than 190 countries across the globe.

"By having multiple servers in every country and major city, Speedtest ensures an accurate view of performance without requiring long, or even international transit, to perform a test," Ookla said on a writeup on its website.

"As a result of this testing infrastructure and the enormous number of tests taken using Speedtest, Ookla has no need to extrapolate data to fill in gaps because its applications collect information from every imaginable location and every type of device at all hours of the day," it added.

To recall, President Rodrigo Duterte in his State of the Nation Address (SONA), threatened dominant telecommunications firms Globe Telecom Inc. and Smart Communications Inc. to improve their services by December, else risk having their properties expropriated by the government or be shut down.

"Kindly improve the services before December. I want to call Jesus Christ to Bethlehem. Better have that line cleared," he said in July.