Ookla’s latest report evaluates the network performance in Southeast Asia’s digital nomad hubs, revealing that mobile speeds are generally satisfactory for remote workers. The analysis, based on Speedtest Intelligence data from Q2 2025 to Q2 2026, covers 13 destinations across six ASEAN markets. Da Nang in Vietnam leads with mobile speeds of 215.56 Mbps, whilst Cebu in the Philippines records the lowest at 55.48 Mbps.
The report highlights that 5G availability has increased in all destinations, ranging from 83.8% in Phuket, Thailand, to 40.0% in Penang, Malaysia. However, the consistency of 5G speeds has not kept pace, with seven out of 13 destinations experiencing a decline in the share of 5G samples meeting the 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload benchmarks.
Despite some declines in mobile connection stability, no destination has reached a level where video calls are affected. Mobile jitter remains below the 30 ms threshold deemed poor by Microsoft Teams, with Da Nang at 7 ms and Cebu at 18 ms.
Fixed broadband speeds show significant variation, with Singapore offering the highest median download speed at 447.75 Mbps, compared to Jakarta’s 60.33 Mbps. The reliability of these connections also varies, as seen in Chiang Mai, Thailand, where only 65.7% of fixed samples meet the 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload standard.
Wi-Fi technology also plays a crucial role, with Singapore leading in Wi-Fi 7 adoption at 34.4%, whilst Jakarta and Bali still rely heavily on older Wi-Fi 4 technology. This disparity underscores the importance of infrastructure in supporting remote work across the region.
