Smart, Globe among top 5G network operators worldwide

MANILA, Philippines — Telco giants Smart Communications Inc. and Globe Telecom Inc. belonged to an elite group of five network operators worldwide that received the most number of citations in the latest Mobile Network Experience Awards by Opensignal.

“Just five operators have managed the impressive feat of being recognized in all four 5G Global Impact categories, namely, Israel’s Hot Mobile and Partner, Globe and Smart in the Philippines, along with the UAE’s du,” Opensignal said.

In particular, Smart and Globe recorded 5G improvements over 4G in terms of download speed, upload speed, video experience and games experience.

Opensignal said the 5G uplift in Globe and Smart stood at 826 percent and 646 percent, respectively, for download speed.

On upload speed, Globe posted a 5G improvement over 4G of 252 percent, while Smart tallied an uplift of 198 percent. Further, Globe achieved the most enhanced 5G video experience at 89 percent and also the second best 5G games experience at 39.6 percent.

Smart registered a 5G improvement over 4G of 61 percent for video experience and 13 percent for games experience.

“Our users on Globe’s network in the Philippines saw the greatest uplift in their experience while streaming mobile video when they shifted from 4G to 5G connections,” Opensignal said.

“Globe in the Philippines had the second highest improvement for games experience, while its domestic rival Smart had a lower increase of just 12.8 percent but still made it through to the top 30,” it said.

In July, the Philippines recorded the best improvement in 5G video experience across the world, as telco providers here invested on infrastructure upgrades to raise Internet speed. According to Opensignal, the country gained a 79 percent uplift in the category to beat Malaysia’s 73 percent and Chile’s 64 percent.

However, among markets with 5G boosts, the Philippines recorded the second lowest 5G speed of 138.6 Mbps, only ahead of Thailand’s 122.7 Mbps. South Korea led the way with 432.7 Mbps, while Malaysia and Sweden came in next with 382.2 Mbps and 333.9 Mbps, respectively.

For 2022, Smart’s parent PLDT Inc. looks to spend P85 billion for capital expenditures, including the upscaling of its 5G network.

Globe allocated a capex of P89 billion for the expansion of fiber assets, delivery of new cell sites and upgrades to its 5G technology.