Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart), a mobile services unit of PLDT Inc., provides a great 5G experience to Filipinos, winning all seven categories in the first 5G Experience Report for the Philippines published by independent mobile analytics firm Opensignal.
Smart came out on top in five out of seven categories, including 5G Availability, 5G Download Speed, 5G Upload Speed, 5G Video Experience, and 5G Games Experience, according to the report*, which covers July 1 to September 28, 2021. Smart was also named a joint winner in the remaining two categories, 5G Reach and 5G Voice App Experience, by Opensignal.
“When we evaluated our users’ 5G experiences on both providers, Smart came out on top by some impressive margins,” noted Sam Fenwick, an Opensignal senior analyst.
With a score of 11.9 percent in the 5G Availability category, Smart 5G customers spent 11.9 percent of their time with an active 5G connection. This is 3.5 percentage points more than the 8.4 percent reported by Globe.
Smart, on the other hand, won the 5G Download Speed category with a speed of 178.1 Mbps, which is 78% faster than Globe’s 100.1 Mbps. It also took first place in the 5G Upload Speed category, with an upload speed of 18.4 Mbps, which is 72.7 percent higher than Globe’s 10.7 Mbps.
On a scale of one to ten, Smart has the best mobile video streaming experience, scoring 77.9 points against Globe’s 75.7. This suggests a “highly uniform experience across all users, video streaming providers, and resolutions evaluated, with rapid loading times and nearly no stalling,” according to Opensignal.
Smart also has the greatest 5G gaming experience, scoring 71.9 points out of a possible 100, which is 9% better than Globe’s 66 points. “In most cases, the game responded to the player’s actions, with most users saying that they felt in charge of the game,” according to the Opensignal research.
Meanwhile, Opensignal discovered that Smart and Globe were statistically deadlocked in the 5G Reach category, which measures how mobile consumers perceive an operator’s 5G network’s geographic reach. On a 10-point scale, Smart received 3.7 points while Globe received 3.5.
Smart and Globe were also named equal champions of the 5G Voice App Experience award, with Smart scoring 80.5 points on a 10-point scale over Globe’s 79.2 points.
The recent Opensignal report and awards are the latest in a long line of independent firms’ accolades for the Smart network.
Smart received the ‘Best in Test’ award from worldwide benchmarking company umlaut earlier this month, citing its best-rated internet coverage, user download experience, and latency experience. Smart was been named the Philippines’ fastest 5G network for Q3 2021, according to Ookla, with a median 5G download speed “almost twice as fast” as its competitor.
“These independent reports reaffirm our commitment to providing world-class connectivity to Filipinos and bringing the benefits of 5G to our consumers.” As the transition to 5G accelerates, we will continue to strengthen our network to empower our nation and open up limitless opportunities for our subscribers’ vocations, enterprises, and interests,” stated Jane J.Basas, SVP and Head of Consumer Wireless Business at Smart.
Smart now has about 800,000 5G customers on its network, which is a 200 percent increase from Smart’s December 2020 5G user count. Smart has also launched over 4,400 5G stations in over 4,000 places, giving the Philippines the broadest 5G coverage in the world.