Smart 5G Network Speed is Two Times Faster Than Competition, According To Ookla

The Philippines' 5G pioneer and leader Smart Communications, Inc. remains the country’s fastest 5G network in the previous quarter with a median download speed that is “nearly twice as fast”  as its competitor, according to the latest report by Ookla, the global leader in broadband network intelligence.  

In its Speedtest Global Index Market and Analyses covering Q3 2021, Ookla reported that Smart had a median 5G download speed at 217.03 Mbps, which is faster than that of Globe’s 114.12 Mbps.   

Ookla’s Speedtest Global Index also identified the mobile operators with the fastest 5G download speeds in selected markets, including United States’ T-Mobile with 135.17 Mbps; Hong Kong’s China Mobile with 191.95 Mbps; Germany’s Telekom with 161.14 Mbps; and Canada’s Bell at 183.39 Mbps.    

Also posting much faster median 5G download speeds were Singapore’s Singtel with 248.45 Mbps; Finland’s Telia with 283.34 Mbps; China’s China Telecom with 304.03 Mbps; Spain’s Vodafone with 323.14 Mbps; New Zealand’s Vodafone at 326.44 Mbps; Qatar’s Ooredoo with 373.98 Mbps; and Taiwan’s Chunghwa Telecom with 440.93 Mbps.   

Smart Delivers World-Class Customer Experience 

According to Ms. Jane J. Basas, SVP and Head of Consumer Wireless Business at Smart, "Ookla’s latest report underscores the steady progress we’ve made in rolling out 5G and providing our subscribers with a world-class customer experience in terms of speed and coverage."

“This inspires us to continue with our network rollout and improvement efforts, as well as stay ahead of our subscribers' needs by offering innovative products and services,” she added.   

Smart now has around 800,000 5G users on its network, which is a 200% increase from the number of Smart 5G users in December 2020.    

To date, Smart has also fired up over 4,400 5G sites in more than 4,000 locations for the Philippines’ widest 5G coverage.   

Smart Gets Top Speed Score and Latency

Aside from leading in terms of 5G performance, Smart also retained its distinction as the fastest mobile operator in the Philippines with a Speed Score™ of 59.71, which is way ahead of Globe’s 28.38 and DITO’s 25.34. Speed Score incorporates a measure of each provider’s download and upload speed to rank network performance   

Moreover, Smart had the lowest median latency, which means it had the most responsive connection essential for activities such as streaming and gaming. Smart posted a median latency of 20 milliseconds (ms), faster than DITO’s 24 ms and Globe’s 25 ms.