Mobile video experience in PH improving

Mobile video quality in the Philippines improved in the first quarter of the year as telcos upgraded their networks, according to crowdsourced data from Opensignal.

Based on its latest report on mobile networks around the world, Opensignal said video experience in the country had improved by 32 percent this year versus January to March in 2019. The Philippines improved the most compared to countries such as Thailand, Nepal and Sengal, it added.

Opensignal measured the average video experience on 3G and 4G networks. This included measuring real-world video streams, picture quality, video loading time and stall rate. The study featured measurements from more than 43 million devices.In a statement, Smart Communications said it was ahead of competition in terms of video quality, based on the Opensignal survey.

“PLDT wireless subsidiary Smart Communications Inc. has set the pace for this trend by consistently posting the best mobile video experience in the Philippines since Opensignal launched the metric in 2019,” the company said.

Telcos such as Smart and Globe Telecom have been spending billions of pesos yearly to improve their networks given surging demand for internet services.For Smart, the number of 4G/LTE base stations as of end-March this year increased by 60 percent year-on-year.

PLDT’s fiber infrastructure, which supports Smart’s network by providing high-capacity links to LTE base stations, is now at 338,500 kilometers nationwide, up 5 percent from end-2019 and higher by nearly 40 percent from end-2018. In April, Smart further increased the capacity of its LTE network by reallocating assigned 2G frequencies to 4G. This resulted in another 3,785 base stations providing additional capacity for its LTE network.

“Our continuous investments in our network and our ongoing upgrades and expansion projects across the country have allowed us to provide our customers with the best mobile data experience,” Mario Tamayo, PLDT-Smart senior vice president for network planning and engineering, said in a statement.—Miguel R. Camus INQ