Smart Communications recorded azero-percent dropped-call ratioin the latest real-world quality-of-service drive tests conducted by the National Telecommunications Commission in Metro Manila. The result was below the regulator’s prescribed threshold of 2 percent and puts voice-call reliability at the center of the latest network comparison. The NTC exercise measures actual service conditions rather than relying only on laboratory claims. For subscribers, the result matters because dropped calls remain especially disruptive for work, customer support, family communication and transactions that still depend on voice service.
The same NTC tests recorded peak mobile broadband speeds of377 Mbpsalong San Francisco Street in Mandaluyong City. A peak result is not the same as an average experience across every neighborhood, device or time of day, but it shows the network’s capacity under favorable conditions. Smart said it will continue working with the regulator to examine areas that need improvement. That distinction is important: a strong test result can identify an operator’s current strengths without guaranteeing identical performance at every location.
Smart’s latest result also lines up with a separate September assessment from the Department of Information and Communications Technology. In the DICT Oplan Bantay Signal report, Smart kept aGood overall rating of 80.3and posted an average download speed of 52.22 Mbps. The company also recorded zero crisis cities nationwide for a fifth consecutive month, with every measured city exceeding 15 Mbps. The DICT assessment uses a different methodology, so it should be read as supporting context rather than a direct replacement for the NTC drive-test result.
For customers, the practical question is how these figures translate into consistent service indoors, on busy roads and outside major urban corridors. Smart also cited Ookla recognition for the Philippines’ Best Mobile Video Experience in the first half of 2026, with a Video Score of 72.82. Those measurements give the operator several positive indicators, while the NTC’s continuing oversight provides an independent check. The broader takeaway is thatnetwork quality is a moving target, and performance claims are most useful when regulators, operators and users can compare them over time.
