Faster speeds amongst APAC telcos drive 5G SA adoption
South Korea led the region in download, and upload speeds.
Telecom operators amongst countries in the developed Asia Pacific (DVAP) region are at the forefront of the 5G stand-alone (SA) network launches across the globe, according to Ookla.
In its report, Ookla said the rapid adoption of 5G networks in the developed countries in the region was driven by strong government support, technology leadership of operators, and high consumer appetite for high-speed internet services.
According to Ookla, South Korea is considered a pioneer in the adoption and deployment of 5G technology. Local telco firm SK Telecom deployed one of the first 5G SA services in H1 2020, supporting advanced features such as network slicing and mobile edge computing (MEC).
Speedtest Intelligence data also shows that the country led the region in download and upload speeds in Q2 2024. South Korea has one of the highest median speeds among the countries analysed at 729.89 Mbps (download) and 77.65 Mbps (upload).
Meanwhile, in Singapore, all three service providers were able to commercialise 5G SA services, covering more than 95% of the country.
Ookla said that users reported to have experienced excellent download speed with a median value of 481.96 Mbps. However, the country lagged in upload speed with a median value of 32.09 Mbps.
Macau and Japan are second and third in the region with median download speeds of 404.22 Mbps and 272.73 Mbps, respectively. Mainland China followed with a median speed of 236.95 Mbps. Policies and initiatives such as network-sharing agreements and government subsidies supported 5G growth.
In Australia, TPG Telecom launched its 5G SA network in November 2021, following Telstra’s announcement in May 2020. However, the country lagged behind its regional peers with median download speeds and upload speeds of 146.68 Mbps and 17.69 Mbps, respectively.
The performance of most reviewed DVAP countries remained largely stable or slightly declined between Q2 2023 and Q2 2024.
The only two exceptions are South Korea and Australia where performance improved by 12% and 18%, respectively. The most substantial declines were observed in upload speeds, while South Korea stood out with a 17% boost in performance.
