5G experience in PH improving, says analytics firm

The Philippine telecommunications industry has markedly enhanced the 5G live video experience for users, according to independent analytics company OpenSignal.

The market research firm, in a report, noted the country had the “second greatest improvement in live video experience from 4G to 5G worldwide,” showing a 28.1-percent increase to 38.1 points out of a possible highest score of 100.

Indonesia was the most improved with 32.7 percent. Completing the top five were Peru (27.1 percent), South Africa (26.3 percent) and Malaysia (26 percent).

Points are measured using users’ perceived video experience, such as the time before a video starts playing and total stalled period when a video is interrupted.

“Video live streaming is one of the services that benefit greatly from the arrival of 5G technology,” OpenSignal noted.

“Compared to 4G, 5G comes with faster speeds, lower latency, and increased network capacity which result in less buffering and fewer disruptions during playback, especially when more users stream videos at the same time,” it added.

According to OpenSignal, Norway has the best live video experience, garnering 55.3 points. It was followed by the Netherlands (54.2 points), Sweden (53.7 points), Denmark (53.6 points) and Austria (53.2 points).

“European markets dominate the top 20 list. However, both South Korea and Taiwan feature among the global leaders as they are the highest-scoring Asia Pacific markets,” OpenSignal noted.

The study was based on data collected from Oct. 27, 2022 to Jan. 24, 2023.

Local telco players have been ramping up 5G investments to address the growing demand for better connectivity. INQ