OpenSignal has published its most recent State of Mobile Network Experience report for the Philippines, showing Globe and Smart’s performance when it comes to its 4G services in the country.
In a report for March 2019, Globe and Smart tied when it comes to 4G Availability. However, Smart wins when it comes to other categories like Video, Download Speed, Upload Speed, and Latency experiences.
4G availability improving
According to OpenSignal, the level of access to 4G services in the Philippines has increased dramatically in the last two years. In OpenSignal’s March 2017 report, neither Globe nor Smart had a 4G Availability score higher than 55%. Now both operators are above the 70% mark in their analysis.
OpenSignal also saw impressive numbers in the country’s three largest cities. In Manila and Davao both operators had 4G Availability scores of more than 80%, while in Cebu, Smart had the highest individual 4G Availability score in the three markets at 84.1%.
Download speeds improving
OpenSignal sees steady gains in mobile broadband download speeds in the Philippines as 4G Availability improves, which makes faster LTE connections more accessible, more often. Globe’s overall download speeds improved only incrementally in OpenSignal’s measurements, but Smart got a 1.5 Mbps bump in its Download Speed Experience score, bringing it to 9 Mbps.
OpenSignal says that mobile video quality in the Philippines isn’t great but is observed to be better on Smart’s network with better overall video quality, with faster loading times and fewer interruptions during playback, according to OpenSignal’s analysis.
OpenSignal also added that the recent improvement of Globe and Smart in their metrics are likely no coincidence and can be a response to the Mislatel consortium’s impending launch as the third national mobile provider.
source: OpenSignal
I think Globe has the widest LTE coverage while Smart is the fastest. Globe LTE Download and Speed is like 3G speed maybe because they dont have fiber backbone like PLDT/Smart and Globe has more upper class subscribers meaning they can afford to pay mobile internet.