Metro Manila’s 5G internet speed 4th worst in AsPac

MANILA, Philippines — Metro Manila has posted the fourth worst 5G speed among 11 Asia-Pacific cities, ranking behind its regional peers in terms of quality of video and gaming experience.

Mobile analyst Opensignal yesterday said Metro Manila’s 5G speed of 150.7 Mbps ranks as the fourth slowest among 11 cities in Asia and the Pacific.

In the region, Opensignal said Seoul’s 453.1 Mbps leads the pack in terms of 5G speed, ahead of Kuala Lumpur’s 376.6 Mbps and Auckland’s 280.7 Mbps.

By segment, Metro Manila placed fourth lowest in 5G video experience with a score of 71.6. On the other hand, Taipei, Auckland, Singapore and Hong Kong listed the best ratings for 5G video quality of 81.3, 80, 78.6 and 78.6, respectively.

As for 5G games experience, Metro Manila registered the worst score of 66.6 in the roster of 11 Asia-Pacific cities. Seoul once again leaped in front with a rating of 87.2, followed by Singapore with 85.1 and Jakarta with 83.7.

“This means that 5G users in Seoul, Singapore and Jakarta enjoyed the best experience when playing real-time multiplayer mobile games over 5G connections,” Opensignal said.

On the positive side, Opensignal said Metro Manila locked up the second spot on the difference in internet speed between 5G and 4G, with 5G in the Philippine capital seven times faster than 4G.

“Metropolitan Manila is in the second place with a 5G download speed score that was 7.3 times faster than its average 4G upload speeds,” Opensignal said.

On that end, Kuala Lumpur landed as first on the ratio of internet speed disparity between its 5G and 4G, with the former 19 times faster than the latter. Opensignal, however, said that there are few 5G subscribers in Malaysia and 5G speed could deteriorate when adoption goes up.

“While it is still early days for 5G in Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur’s inhabitants saw a huge difference in their average download speeds when they connect to 5G instead of 4G. In fact, the city’s 5G download speed score is an incredible 19 times higher than its 4G download speed score,” the mobile analyst said.

PLDT Inc., the parent of wireless leader Smart Communications Inc., plans to spend P85 billion for its capital expenditures, including the expansion of its 5G network.

On the other hand, Ayala-led Globe Telecom Inc. allocated a capex of P89 billion for the delivery of fiber assets, completion of new cell sites and the improvement of its 5G technology.