Vietnam streams ahead of neighbors in mobile video experience: report

Vietnam scored an average 61.4 to move from ‘Fair’ to ‘Good’ this year, according to a report released by OpenSignal, a U.K.-based independent global standard for measuring real world mobile network experience.

OpenSignal analyzed user experience while viewing video content on mobile devices across 100 countries and territories, based on analysis of 94 billion measurements taken between August 1 and October 30 this year, involving nearly 37.7 billion devices.

Vietnam's mobile video quality is better than Southeast Asian neighbors like Laos (54th), Malaysia (66th), Thailand (77th) and Cambodia (85th).

Improvement in mobile video experience among Vietnamese users has been credited to the upgrade of internet connectivity, the report states.  

Vietnamese telecoms started piloting 4G, the fourth generation broadband cellular network technology, succeeding 3G, in December 2015. The government plans to expand coverage to 95 percent of the population by 2020.

Local telecom firms are chasing a head start in the 5G race as Vietnam expects to become an early adopter of the technology.

Telecom giant Viettel broadcast from its network of 5G base transceiver stations in Ho Chi Minh City last September for the first time.

Rivals like MobiFone and Vinaphone are expected to launch 5G services soon.

Around 64 million people, or over half the country's population, are online.

Singapore was the top-ranked country in Asia at 12th for mobile video experience, with a score of 74 points.

Globally, the best country in which to stream video content via a mobile device was Norway, followed by the Czech Republic and Austria.