Globe Telecom Inc. recorded a significant improvement in network performance in August, with average download speeds rising 26% from the beginning of the year as the company continued investing heavily in its mobile and digital infrastructure.
Average download speed reached 45.9 Mbps in August, up from 36.5 Mbps in January and 5.1% higher than the July result. Globe also posted an overall network score of 81.5, its strongest rating so far this year.
The latest figures came from the Department of Information and Communications Technology’s Telco Report Card, which evaluates the performance and quality of telecommunications services in the Philippines. Globe’s network-quality score increased to 71.2 in August from 69.2 at the start of the year, while latency remained at around 20 milliseconds.
The improvement comes as demand for faster and more reliable connectivity continues to increase. Filipinos are increasingly dependent on mobile networks for video streaming, online work, digital payments, social media, gaming and other data-intensive services, putting pressure on telecom operators to continuously expand network capacity.
Globe has responded with a major increase in infrastructure spending. The company invested ₱26.3 billion in capital expenditures during the first half of 2026, up 39% from the same period a year earlier, with approximately 91% of the spending directed toward data and digital infrastructure.
The investment has also supported the company’s 5G expansion. Globe said outdoor 5G population coverage had surpassed 98% across Metro Manila and key cities in the Visayas and Mindanao, while coverage in non-key cities had reached at least 80% of the population.
The stronger August results are significant because they indicate that additional network spending is coinciding with measurable improvements in customer-facing performance. Faster average download speeds can improve everyday activities such as video calls, streaming, file transfers and cloud-based applications, although actual user experience can vary depending on location, device, congestion and network conditions.
Globe has also been emphasizing network consistency alongside raw speed. The company said it has received consecutive industry recognitions for mobile network consistency and 5G coverage, while continuing to expand its infrastructure outside the country’s largest urban centers.
The improvements come amid broader scrutiny of telecommunications service quality in the Philippines. Regulators have continued conducting network tests and requiring operators to address areas where service performance falls below expectations, highlighting the gap that can exist between nationwide averages and the experience of individual users.
For Globe, maintaining the momentum will require continued investment as mobile data consumption grows. Network improvements are not simply about adding more sites or spectrum; operators must also increase capacity, strengthen backhaul infrastructure and optimize networks to handle rapidly changing traffic patterns.
The company’s spending strategy also reflects the increasingly important role of telecommunications infrastructure in the Philippine economy. Faster and more reliable connectivity supports businesses, digital services, remote work, online education and the wider expansion of the country’s digital economy.
Still, the August results represent a snapshot of network performance rather than a guarantee that every Globe customer will experience the same improvement. Network quality can differ considerably between cities, neighborhoods and even individual locations depending on coverage, congestion and other technical conditions.
Globe’s latest performance nevertheless places greater attention on whether the company can sustain its network gains through the remainder of 2026. With billions of pesos being directed toward digital infrastructure and 5G expansion, the next challenge will be translating those investments into consistently faster and more reliable connectivity for customers nationwide.
The bigger question now is whether Globe’s stronger August performance marks the beginning of a sustained improvement in Philippine mobile connectivity — and how the company’s continued network investments will shape the competition for faster, more reliable internet services.
