The Philippines ranks second globally in terms of the most significant improvement in the experience of mobile internet users with 4G and 5G for live video, with a surge of 28.1%, according to an analytics company.

“Indonesian users observe the biggest leap…, with an improvement of 32.7% for live video experience,” Opensignal Senior Analyst Robert Wyrzykowski said in his report for February. 

Peru (27.1%), South Africa (26.3%), and Malaysia (26%) round out the top five.

European markets dominate the global top 20 list, with Norway taking the top spot.  

Live video experience is key in the 5G era, according Mr. Wyrzykowski. It “matters even more to mobile users,” his report reads, “because if there are delays in the network or the production process,” it can lead to a user’s experience being ruined — such as when neighbors cheer a goal in a football match before the user is able to watch it firsthand.  

According to Vantage Market Research, a consulting and advisory company, the total global live video streaming market will reach $4.3 billion by 2028, up from $1 billion in 2021. 

TELCOS
Opensignal’s Global Mobile Network Experience Awards 2023 likewise recognized the improvements of two Philippine telecommunications service providers.  

Globe Telecom, Inc. was recognized by Opensignal as a “Global Rising Star” in the following categories for mobile experience improvement between the second half of 2021 and the second half of 2022: Games Experience, Voice App Experience, Upload Speed Experience, and Time on 4G/5G.  

Its users saw the greatest year-on-year improvement in games experience (31.8%) and voice app experience (10.8%) out of all the operators analyzed in Southeast Asia. 

DITO Telecommunity Corp., meanwhile, is the only Filipino operator worldwide to be recognized for the quality of its mobile experience in the second half of 2022. It was recognized as a “Global High Performer” for the time on 4G/5G category at Opensignal’s 2023 awards. Its users also saw the second-highest increase in the region for voice app experience at 7.3%.  

In his first State of the Nation address, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. ordered the Department of Information and Communications Technology to “deploy digital connectivity across our various islands.”  

Information and communications technology (ICT) is important to the nation’s progress, according to Senator Lorna “Loren” B. Legarda.  

“Our goal is to ensure that every community will be connected digitally, and every citizen will have the knowledge and skill to effectively use and access ICTs, so that in this highly-evolving digital world, we can all keep up, and no one gets left behind,” she said in a March 7 ceremony launching wi-fi sites in the province of Antique. — Patricia B. Mirasol

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