THE PHILIPPINES was among the countries with the lowest video quality experience in the past quarter even as it showed a large improvement, a global mobile analytics company said.
OpenSignal said in its The State of Mobile Network Experience 2020 report that Philippine users’ video experience grew by 32%, the fourth largest increase in percentage among 100 countries. The report is based on data collected from more than 43 million devices in the first quarters of 2019 and 2020.
Video experience improved from “Poor” to “Fair,” with the country ranking 91st out of a 100 countries.
“While there is a relationship between download speeds and the quality of the Video Experience, the strength of the correlation between the two declines as speeds increase,” the report said, noting that the Czech Republic and the Netherlands tied for first place in video experience even though they have a gap in average download speeds.
The Philippines ranked 83rd in terms of download speeds, up 21.5% to 8.5 megabits per second (Mbps).
Philippine smartphone users are able to spend 81.5% of their time connected to 4G signal, up 12.6% since 2019 and one of the largest increases in the Asia Pacific.
OpenSignal said 5G adoption needs to accelerate to improve overall download experience, but they maintained that markets still need to provide users with a good mobile 4G experience.
“This older 4G technology is the foundation of mobile experience, for 4G users and also as a necessary foundation for offering 5G services.”
OpenSignal added that the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic on business makes the future of mobile networks uncertain.
“But the habits formed during the crisis, and the critical role of mobile telecoms in everyone’s lives in these difficult times, will lead to many mobile initiatives in the years ahead,” the report said.
“People are connecting through voice and video communications more than ever — highlighting the importance of different ways of measuring the quality of the real-world mobile experience.” — J.P. Ibañez
