4G speeds in Philippines among slowest in East Asia – report

MANILA, Philippines — Metro Manila’s average 4G download and upload speeds have been ranked as among the worst across 12 major cities in East Asia, a new report from research firm OpenSignal showed.

OpenSignal’s ranking covering 12 major cities in East Asia showed that Manila’s 4G download speed was 16.9 megabits per second (Mbps) or below the global average.

Joining Manila in this group are Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Phnom Penh and Jakarta, which had the slowest 4G download speed. Jakarta is followed by Phnom Penh, Bangkok and Manila.

The research firm said Seoul and Singapore “are in a class of their own,” leading the region with average download speeds greater than 45 Mbps.

“That makes them not just the fastest cities in East Asia, but among the fastest cities in the world,” the research firm said.

Following Seoul and Singapore are a group of cities with 4G download speeds over 25 Mbps which, OpenSignal said, are indicative of powerful LTE networks.

“While we would expect Taipei and Tokyo to be LTE powerhouses, given their early adoption of 4G, Yangon and Ho Chi Minh City are holding their own. Both Vietnam and Myanmar only launched commercial 4G services within the last two years, which perhaps explains why they’re delivering such fast connections,” OpenSignal said.

It added: “As countries ramp up their first LTE networks, they initially have few customers and large amounts of capacity. As consumers adopt 4G phones and 4G service plans, they begin filling up those networks, causing speeds to gradually decline.”

In terms of LTE upload speeds, OpenSignal said there is much more parity across the region.

While the difference between the fastest and slowest city’s 4G download was nearly 40 Mbps, the gap in terms of upload was about 10 Mbps.

OpenSignal said the fastest city of the 12 was Singapore with a 4G upload speed of 15.4 Mbps. It noted that Phnom Penh and Jakarta were the slowest at an average 4.9 Mbps.