TELECOMMUNICATIONS services in the country improved in the first half, connectivity intelligence firm Ookla said on Tuesday, with the government and service providers said to have made significant investments to expand and modernize the telecommunications infrastructure nationwide.

The median mobile download speed for all providers reached 31.83 megabits per second (Mbps), up from the 27.64 Mbps registered in the second half of 2023, with Smart Communications Inc. leading for all technologies with a median of 40.75 Mbps.

Rivals Globe Telecom Inc. and DITO Telecommunications Inc. followed with 28.45 Mbps and 24.06 Mbps, respectively.

Globe, meanwhile, was the most consistent mobile network, with 85.5 percent of samples meeting the download threshold of 5 Mbps and 1 Mbps for uploads.

The fastest network for Android and iPhone was Smart's, with median download speeds of 70.64 Mbps and 52.57 Mbps, Ookla said.

Smart again led with regard to video experience, with a median video start time of 1.24 seconds, while DITO recorded the best mobile gaming experience with a latency of 100 milliseconds.

DITO was rated the top mobile provider in the country with a score of 3.74 out of 5.

As for fixed internet service providers (ISPs), Converge ICT Solutions Inc. was the top performing fixed ISP with a median download and upload speeds of 108.53 Mbps and 105.32 Mbps.

It also recorded the highest network consistency, with 87.5 percent of samples meeting/exceeding the download and upload thresholds of 25 Mbps and 3 Mbps, and was judged as having the best ISP video experience with a median start time of 0.67 seconds.

Converge also led in terms of ISP gaming, with a median latency of 89 milliseconds, and consumer sentiment with a score of 3.67 out of 5.

As for cities, Caloocan had the fastest median fixed download speed of 99.46 Mbps, followed by Quezon City (94.69 Mbps) and Davao (92.78 Mbps).

Manila brought up the rear with the slowest median download speed of 87.96 Mbps behind fourth-ranked Cebu (89.08 Mbps).

Ookla said that Converge was the fastest provider across the five cities.

Ookla, which is known for its Speedtest program that tests internet connection performance and quality, said that the January-June results "were informed by millions of daily consumer-initiated tests ... along with quality of experience metrics that offer insight into the daily connected activities that matter most to end-users."