The Philippines continues to have a significant number of mobile users relying on older 3G technology, even as the country moves to phase out the network by the end of 2026, a study by Ookla showed.
The report found that the Philippines remains among the slowest globally to transition to newer technologies such as Voice over LTE (VoLTE), with only 30.9% of total mobile connections using the service in 2025.
This is well below the global average of 57.7% and lags behind neighboring countries such as Thailand (65.2%), Malaysia (96.1%), and Singapore (94.9%).
VoLTE is a next-generation technology that allows users to make voice calls over 4G or 5G networks instead of older 2G and 3G systems.
The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) has ordered the shutdown of 3G networks by the end of 2026 to allow spectrum to be reallocated for more advanced technologies.
While 4G has been commercially available in the Philippines since 2012, Ookla noted that the country took longer to roll out VoLTE services nationwide, citing data from major telecommunications providers.
“In November 2020, Smart Communications officially announced the completion of its nationwide VoLTE rollout, making the service accessible to both postpaid and prepaid subscribers,” Ookla said. “Globe Telecom followed a similar path, initially launching VoLTE in Manila in May 2020 and progressively expanding coverage nationwide throughout 2021,” it added.
Despite these developments, both Smart Communications and Globe Telecom continue to serve a large number of subscribers using older devices.
“In contrast, Smart and Globe manage massive subscriber bases that still include users with older devices,” the report said.
“While both operators process nearly all of their active 4G voice traffic through mature VoLTE architecture, migrating the remaining legacy 3G devices ahead of the 2026 NTC deadline will depend heavily on regulatory support, since consumer device upgrades are constrained by affordability and cannot be driven by operators alone,” it added.
Globally, VoLTE connections average 57.7%. Citing data from GSMA Intelligence, Ookla said VoLTE adoption in the Philippines is projected to rise to 43.2% this year, 53.7% in 2027, and 61.6% in 2028.
Ookla conducted its assessment of the country’s VoLTE capabilities from February 17 to 22, 2026, using a flagship Samsung device. The evaluation covered 1,200 kilometers and gathered more than 23,000 controlled test samples across voice and data services.
