‘3 in 5 Pinoys want 5G service all the time’

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September 30, 2026 | 12:00am

For AI use

MANILA, Philippines — At least three in five Filipinos are demanding 5G service all the time, wherever they go, from their network providers, and are willing to pay a premium for it.

A survey by Swedish telco Ericsson said 60 percent of mobile users in the Philippines have identified critical moments where they require guaranteed 5G connectivity.

Further, the survey reported that 36 percent of Filipinos say they are ready to pay a premium for service quality.

Ericsson head for Singapore, Brunei and the Philippines Daniel Ode said telcos could gain up to two months of additional average revenue per user (ARPU) from such commitment to pay more. He noted that Filipinos are picky when it comes to connectivity service.

Ode said demand for 5G signals would only rise as Filipinos turn to artificial intelligence tools for daily tasks. For AI to run smoothly, it requires a 5G network.

Ericsson projects AI usage on phones among Filipinos to double to 32 percent by 2030, from 16 percent currently.

“As on-the-go AI adoption and multimodal apps accelerate, expectations around responsiveness will only intensify,” Ode said.

He advised telcos to build up subscriber loyalty by developing performance-assured products to capture the emerging demand.

Going deeper into the survey, Ericsson reported that 36 percent of Filipinos purchase mobile data designed for different tasks. The survey also reported that one in four Filipinos are open to alternative models, including subscription inside third-party apps.

Globally, Ericsson said the Philippines has beaten the global averages for guaranteed 5G service and commitment to pay a premium. Ericsson observed that Filipinos no longer settle for standard models of connectivity products.

The Ericsson survey gathered the insights of more than 43,000 users across 27 markets, including at least 34,000 active 5G subscribers.

In the Philippines, the survey covered around 1,500 respondents, including 900 active 5G users, representing about 46 million Filipino smartphone users.