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Smart has achieved a rare and remarkable achievement — it wins all seven of our awards for the national mobile experience. In previous reports it has come close to this mark but this is the first time that it has done so. In addition to successfully defending the five awards it won in our last report, Smart converted a joint win on Games Experience into an outright win and successfully reclaimed the Voice App Experience award, which Globe won last time around.
Our Filipino users have seen a significant improvement in their average download speeds when using both Globe and Smart’s networks. Our Smart users saw by far the largest increase — both in absolute and percentage terms. Smart’s Download Speed Experience score rose from the 11.4 Mbps seen in our previous report to 14.8 Mbps, a rise of 3.4 Mbps (29.5%). Globe’s score rose by 1.2 Mbps (16.4%) — from 7.4 Mbps to 8.6 Mbps. As a result of these changes, Smart’s lead has risen by 2.2 Mbps to an impressive 6.2 Mbps. Things were more mixed on Upload Speed Experience, with Smart’s score falling by 0.2 Mbps and Globe’s increasing by the same amount. Consequently, Smart’s lead fell by 0.4 Mbps to a still respectable 1.5 Mbps.
While our users on both operators’ networks have spent more of their time connected to 4G since our last report, our Globe users have seen the most improvement — Globe’s 4G Availability score rose by 2.2 percentage points to 82.6% while Smart’s increased by 0.7 percentage points to 86.1%. These changes have caused Smart’s lead to drop by nearly 30% — from 5 percentage points to 3.6. Both operators have also made solid gains on 4G Coverage Experience with Globe and Smart’s scores rising by 0.3 and 0.5 points, respectively to reach 6.9 and 7.2 points out of 10.
In our last report, Globe prised the Voice App Experience award out of Smart’s hands and won by a margin of just 0.9 points. This time round, Smart has taken back the award as its score rose by 11.9 points, while Globe’s increased by 4.9 points. As a result of these changes, Smart wins the award with a lead of 6.2 points.
Smart’s score of 60.9 points out of 100 for Video Experience was higher than Globe’s score of 53.1. As a result, Smart’s winning streak since we introduced this award to the Philippines in March 2019 remains unbroken. However, Smart’s lead has more than halved since our last report, when our users observed a 16.6 gap between the two operators in Smart’s favor. This change was driven by a massive 15.4 improvement in Globe’s score while Smart’s increased by 6.7 points. These changes have meant that both operators have moved up a category — from Fair (40-55) to Good (55-65) in Smart’s case, and from Poor (under 40) to Fair (40-55) for Globe.
The Philippines has been on a strong upward trend in mobile experience, based on the observations of Opensignal’s users as we’ve shown in a number of our recent insights.
In this report both operators see significant improvements in their scores across the majority of our measures of the mobile experience. While Smart has managed the incredible feat of winning all seven of our awards outright, Globe has cut into its lead on Video Experience, Upload Speed Experience and 4G Availability.
Both operators have recently been recognised for the rapid improvement in their mobile experience in Opensignal’s Global Mobile Network Experience Awards 2021 report. Globe featured as a 2021 Global Rising Star for Video Experience and Voice App Experience, while Smart obtained the Global Rising Star recognition for 4G Availability.
Naturally, the biggest development in the Philippines’ mobile market since our last report is the news that Dito, the country’s third mobile operator, launched 4G and 5G commercial services in March, initially in 15 areas. Dito announced in mid-April that it had expanded its mobile service to 21 more cities, of which 18 are in Luzon. While Dito’s arrival has come too late for us to include in this report, we will soon be looking at the experience of our Dito users in future insights and reports.
Meanwhile, Smart announced that it has more than 2,000 live 5G sites across the country and is seeking to upgrade 40% of its total sites to 5G by the end of the year. In February, the operator claimed that its 5G network covered 17 cities and municipalities in the NCR, along with the cities of Angeles and Mabalacat in Pampanga, Bacoor in Cavite, and Binan and Santa Rosa in Laguna. Globe has also been busy, securing 495 permits in the first two months of this year to build new cell towers — it is seeking to build at least 2,000 new towers this year.
In this report, we've analyzed the mobile network experience of the Philippines' two established national operators in the 90 days starting January 1 and ending March 31, 2021 both at a national level and across all 17 regions, to see how Globe and Smart measure up. We have used 5G measurements in addition to those from previous generations of mobile network technology when determining the overall scores for each award category.
| Mobile Experience Awards Philippines | ||
|---|---|---|
April 2021,
Philippines Report
|
G
Globe
|
S
Smart
|
Video Experience
| ||
Games Experience
| ||
Voice App Experience
| ||
Download Speed Experience
| ||
Upload Speed Experience
| ||
4G Availability
| ||
4G Coverage Experience
| ||
|
Mobile Experience Awards Winners
|
April 2021,
Philippines
|
|---|---|
|
Video Experience
|
S
Smart
|
|
Games Experience
|
S
Smart
|
|
Voice App Experience
|
S
Smart
|
|
Download Speed Experience
|
S
Smart
|
|
Upload Speed Experience
|
S
Smart
|
|
4G Availability
|
S
Smart
|
|
4G Coverage Experience
|
S
Smart
|
Smart’s score of 60.9 points out of 100 for Video Experience comfortably beat Globe’s score of 53.1. However, Smart’s lead has more than halved since our last report, when our users observed a 16.6 point gap between the two operators in Smart’s favor. This change was driven by a rise of 15.4 points (40.8%) improvement in Globe’s score while Smart’s increased by 6.7 points (12.4%). These changes have meant that both operators have moved up a category — from Fair (40-55) to Good (55-65) in Smart’s case, and from Poor (under 40) to Fair (40-55) for Globe.
When we look at the experience of our users when streaming video split by mobile network technology generation, Smart had a higher score for 4G Video Experience than Globe, but the two operators’ scores were statistically tied for 3G Video Experience. Our 4G users enjoyed a superior video experience than that seen overall, with our Smart 4G users reporting a Very Good (65-75) 4G Video Experience, while Globe placed in the Good (55-65) category.
This means that our Smart 4G users experienced generally fast loading times and only occasional stalling but the experience might be somewhat inconsistent across users and/or video providers/resolutions. Our Globe 4G users had a less consistent experience, even from the same video streaming provider and particularly for higher resolutions, with noticeably slower loading times and stalling not being uncommon.
|
Video Experience
Additional Metrics |
G
Globe
|
S
Smart
|
|---|---|---|
| in 0-100 points | ||
|
4G Video Experience
| 56.5 (± 0.40) | 65.8 (± 0.42) |
|
3G Video Experience
| 37.4 (± 1.36) | 40.1 (± 1.82) |
| 4G Video Experience | in 0-100 points |
|
G
Globe
|
56 (± 0.40) |
|
S
Smart
|
66 (± 0.42) |
| 3G Video Experience | in 0-100 points |
|
G
Globe
|
37 (± 1.36) |
|
S
Smart
|
40 (± 1.82) |
Smart has reclaimed our Games Experience award, after being forced to share it with Globe in our previous report due to a statistical tie. Opensignal’s Games Experience measures how mobile users experience real-time multiplayer mobile gaming on an operator’s network and analyzes how this is affected by mobile network conditions, including latency, packet loss and jitter. It considers multiple genres of multiplayer mobile games to measure the average sensitivity to network conditions. The games tested include some of the most popular real-time multiplayer mobile games (such as Fortnite, Pro Evolution Soccer and Arena of Valor) played around the world.
|
Games Experience
Additional Metrics |
G
Globe
|
S
Smart
|
|---|---|---|
| in 0-100 points | ||
|
4G Games Experience
| 38.9 (± 0.22) | 56.7 (± 0.61) |
|
3G Games Experience
| 29.7 (± 0.21) | 33.4 (± 0.30) |
| 4G Games Experience | in 0-100 points |
|
G
Globe
|
39 (± 0.22) |
|
S
Smart
|
57 (± 0.61) |
| 3G Games Experience | in 0-100 points |
|
G
Globe
|
30 (± 0.21) |
|
S
Smart
|
33 (± 0.30) |
Smart has taken back the Voice App Experience award after Globe succeeded in winning it outright in our last report. This change was driven by Smart’s score rising by an impressive 11.9 points (19.4%), while Globe’s score rose by 4.9 points (7.9%). As a result of these changes, Smart’s score of 73.4 points commanded a lead of 6.2 points (9.2%) over Globe’s score of 67.2 points.
|
Voice App Experience
Additional Metrics |
G
Globe
|
S
Smart
|
|---|---|---|
| in 0-100 points | ||
|
4G Voice App Experience
| 69.3 (± 0.22) | 75.7 (± 0.23) |
|
3G Voice App Experience
| 57.6 (± 0.65) | 63.2 (± 0.82) |
| 4G Voice App Experience | in 0-100 points |
|
G
Globe
|
69 (± 0.22) |
|
S
Smart
|
76 (± 0.23) |
| 3G Voice App Experience | in 0-100 points |
|
G
Globe
|
58 (± 0.65) |
|
S
Smart
|
63 (± 0.82) |
Opensignal's Voice App Experience measures the quality of experience for over-the-top (OTT) voice services — mobile voice apps such as WhatsApp, Skype, Facebook Messenger, etc. — using a model derived from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU)-based approach for quantifying overall voice call quality and a series of calibrated technical parameters. This model characterizes the exact relationship between the technical measurements and perceived call quality. Voice App Experience for each operator is calculated on a scale from 0 to 100.
Our Filipino users have seen a significant improvement in their average download speeds when using both Globe and Smart’s networks. Our Smart users saw by far the largest increase — both in absolute and percentage terms. Smart’s Download Speed Experience score rose from the 11.4 Mbps seen in our previous report to 14.8 Mbps, a rise of 3.4 Mbps (29.5%). Globe’s score rose by 1.2 Mbps (16.4%) — from 7.4 Mbps to 8.6 Mbps. As a result of these changes, Smart’s lead has risen by 2.2 Mbps to an impressive 6.2 Mbps.
When we split average download speeds by mobile network technology generation, both our 4G and 3G users have seen significant improvements since our last report. Our 4G users observed increases that closely reflected those seen on Download Speed Experience. Globe was 0.2 Mbps away from hitting the 10 Mbps mark for 4G Download Speed, while Smart’s score was an impressive 17.2 Mbps. Both Globe’s 4G Download Speed and Download Speed Experience scores have more than recovered from the dip that was seen in our last report.
|
Download Speed Experience
Additional Metrics |
G
Globe
|
S
Smart
|
|---|---|---|
| in Mbps | ||
|
4G Download Speed
| 9.8 (± 0.09) | 17.2 (± 0.23) |
|
3G Download Speed
| 3.1 (± 0.07) | 4.4 (± 0.12) |
| 4G Download Speed | in Mbps |
|
G
Globe
|
10 (± 0.09) |
|
S
Smart
|
17 (± 0.23) |
| 3G Download Speed | in Mbps |
|
G
Globe
|
3 (± 0.07) |
|
S
Smart
|
4 (± 0.12) |
Smart has once again won the Upload Speed Experience with a score of 3.8 Mbps, very slightly down from the 4 Mbps seen in our previous report. In contrast, Globe’s score has risen by 0.2 Mbps from 2.1 Mbps to 2.3 Mbps. As a result of these changes, Smart’s lead over Globe has dropped by 0.4 Mbps to 1.5 Mbps (62.5%).
|
Upload Speed Experience
Additional Metrics |
G
Globe
|
S
Smart
|
|---|---|---|
| in Mbps | ||
|
4G Upload Speed
| 2.7 (± 0.03) | 4.4 (± 0.05) |
|
3G Upload Speed
| 0.4 (± 0.02) | 1.1 (± 0.05) |
| 4G Upload Speed | in Mbps |
|
G
Globe
|
3 (± 0.03) |
|
S
Smart
|
4 (± 0.05) |
| 3G Upload Speed | in Mbps |
|
G
Globe
|
0 (± 0.02) |
|
S
Smart
|
1 (± 0.05) |
Once again, Globe and Smart have made steady progress on 4G Availability. While Smart has retained the 4G Availability award, Globe’s score has increased more rapidly, having risen by 2.2 percentage points since our last report to 82.6%. Meanwhile, the proportion of time that our Smart users were connected to 4G rose by 0.7 percentage points to 86.1%. The improved experience of our Globe users has meant that Smart’s lead has dropped from 5 percentage points to 3.6.
These recent increases in 4G Availability are part of a long-term trend: Between Q4 2017 and Q2 2020, Globe’s 4G Availability score rose by 14.5 percentage points, while Smart’s increased by 27.8 percentage points. In addition, Opensignal recently recognized Smart as a Global Rising Star for 4G Availability in the Global Mobile Network Experience Awards 2021 report.
In addition to winning the 4G Coverage Experience award for the second-time in a row and remaining the only operator to have won this award since we introduced it in November 2020, Smart has pushed past the seven point mark for this measure of the mobile experience, which is measured on a scale of 0-10. Its score has risen by 0.5 points since our last report to 7.2 points. Globe’s score also rose — increasing by 0.3 points to 6.9.
Opensignal’s 4G Coverage Experience is a measure of how mobile subscribers experience 4G coverage on an operator’s network. Measured on a scale of 0-10, it analyzes the locations where customers of a network operator received a 4G signal relative to the locations visited by users of all network operators.
In simple terms, 4G Coverage Experience measures the mobile coverage experience in all the locations that matter most to everyday users — i.e. all the places where they live, work and travel. It considers all the areas that Opensignal users visit, the portion of locations that 4G is available to them, and locations that more users visit have higher importance to them.
Smart’s clean sweep at the national level is largely reflected in the regional results. Smart racked up a remarkable 91 outright wins out of a possible 102 awards across 17 regions. Globe did not win a single regional award outright, instead statistically tying with Smart 11 times. With all but one of the measures that we have used to assess our Filipino users’ mobile experience at the regional level, the highest score was seen by our Smart users in Metropolitan Manila. The lone exception was 4G Availability, as Smart and Globe were statistically tied for the highest regional score in Metropolitan Manila.
Looking at the regional Video Experience, Globe and Smart were joint winners in Cagayan Valley, Cordillera and Ilocos, while Smart won in all the remaining regions. In Metropolitan Manila, our Smart users had a Very Good Video Experience, while our Globe users had a Good experience. In nine out of 16 regions outside of Metropolitan Manila, our Smart users observed a Good Video Experience and a Fair Video Experience in the remaining seven regions. Meanwhile, our Globe users’ Video Experience placed in the Fair category in 14 regions, with the remainder having a Poor experience.
Smart achieved a clean sweep on Games Experience, winning awards outright in all 17 regions. It narrowly fell short of the same achievement for Voice App Experience, due to a statistical tie in Caraga.
Globe was a joint winner with Smart on Download Speed Experience in Cagayan Valley and Cordillera, but Smart won outright in the remaining regions. The average download speeds seen by our Smart users ranged from 24 Mbps in Metropolitan Manila to 7.2 Mbps in Bangsamoro, while those seen by our Globe users were between 12.1 Mbps in Metropolitan Manila and 3 Mbps in Bangsamoro. The speeds seen by our Smart users were above 10 Mbps in 12 regions. Although Metropolitan Manila was the only region in which our Globe users observed average speeds above 10 Mbps, Globe scored 8-8.5 Mbps in five other regions.
Smart achieved a clean sweep on Upload Speed Experience across all 17 regions and the average upload speeds seen by our Smart users ranged from 4.9 Mbps in Metropolitan Manila to 2.7 Mbps in Bangsamoro. Those seen by our Globe were between the 3.2 Mbps seen in Metropolitan Manila and the 1.3 Mbps reported for Mimaropa.
Finally, Globe racked up five joint wins for 4G Availability at the regional level, due to statistical ties in Cagayan Valley, Calabarzon, Caraga, Metropolitan Manila and Northern Mindanao. Smart won the others outright. Our users on both operators spent more than 90% of their time connected to 4G in Metropolitan Manila. Smart users in Central Luzon weren’t far behind with a score of 88.5%.
Select any region or city below to display individual breakdown
Collecting billions of individual measurements daily from over 100 million devices globally, Opensignal independently analyzes mobile user experience on every major network operator around the globe.
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