Do you watch TV or videos on your smart phone?

MANILA, Philippines — I am one of those people who are guilty of watching TV on my cell phone when, while driving home, a game I want to catch is streaming and I have good coverage, and I am stuck in traffic. 

I have in the process tried both telcos and found that Smart has better TV coverage when stuck in traffic on EDSA.

A follow-up study by independent mobile analytics company OpenSignal details mobile video experience further, building on its previous State of Mobile Video report so that this time, the countries are broken down per operator. The current report includes Asian carriers specifically showing mobile video experience performances of telecom carriers in Singapore, Australia, Taiwan, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia and the Philippines.

The study also states that as global demand for mobile video continues to rise, the demand for better video experience is also increasing.  

What makes the study interesting is that while the Philippines scored 34.98 in the previous study released in September, OpenSignal’s per-operator study shows that Smart actually garnered a video experience score of 42.2 ahead of Globe’s 29.2, and well above the Philippines’ overall score. It’s a clear nod to efforts Smart has been making over the past years to improve video experience in the country.

It is actually not the first time Smart is being cited by OpenSignal. Earlier this year, OpenSignal also awarded Smart for having the fastest LTE network, and gave it four citations: Best in 4G LTE download speed; Best in overall download speed; Best 4G latency performance; and Best 3G latency performance.

According to OpenSignal’s latest Mobile Networks Update in August, which covers the months of May to July this year, Smart LTE download speeds are also ahead nationwide at 13.09 Mbps (vs competitor’s 7.34 Mbps), as well as across all measured areas: at 15.24 Mbps in National Capital Region (vs. 8.43 Mbps); 13.48 Mbps in North Central Luzon (vs. 6.02 Mbps); 10.59 Mbps in South Luzon (vs 6.47 Mbps); 10.49 Mbps in the Visayas (vs 7.42 Mbps); and 12.23 Mbps in Mindanao (vs 6.95 Mbps).

Smart also has lower 3G and 4G latency at 98.28ms and 53.48ms, respectively.

SIM Ready

First things first. It’s very important that you are equipped with the right SIM to be able to experience the best video viewing that Smart has to offer. Smart recommends its LTE-ready SIM. However, if you are among the few subscribers of Smart that don’t have LTE, switching is easy.  

To upgrade a SIM, all you have to do is visit a Smart shop. If you are unsure if your Smart SIM is LTE- ready, all you need to do is sms SIMCHECK to 5832 for free.

Of course it helps to be in an LTE-covered area. Smart is nearing completion of its LTE rollout, that is, to provide high-speed mobile Internet to over 90 per cent of the country’s municipalities by the end of the year.  

You also need a cell phone or device that is LTE-capable. You can ask your service provider if your device is LTE-ready.  

Go ahead, watch 

OpenSignal says their video experience measures exactly what consumers are experiencing when they watch videos. Built on an International Telecommunication Union (ITU)-based approach for measuring video quality, it is derived from several underlying parameters based on real-world measurements of video streams from the world’s largest video content providers.

More than speed, the experience of video viewing in the Philippines will further improve as network operators expand LTE coverage across the country. More Filipinos must also start using LTE cell phones, since LTE handset penetration in the Philippines still lags behind our neighboring countries. 

As a parting shot, let me just add that it would be totally ill-advised to watch a basketball game while you’re driving – but if you have good video coverage and your team is winning, how can you not?