Smart expanding high-speed Internet deployment in 2018
Next year, the Smart Communications (Smart) is rolling out more high-speed LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) service with carrier aggregation to boost mobile Internet speeds in the Philippines.
The telco is expanding areas where it will deploy its four-component (4CC) carrier aggregation to deliver data speeds of over 200 Mbps via 4CC capable handsets.
Carrier Aggregation on LTE-A involves combining two or more radio frequency bands to deliver bigger bandwidth and faster data speeds to mobile phone users. With 4CC, four separate spectrum bands are combined, resulting in much higher data speeds.
“This is not a test or pilot. We are bringing today 4CC to our customers as a live, commercial service that can deliver world-class mobile Internet,” Mario G. Tamayo, PLDT and Smart Senior Vice President for Network Planning and Engineering yesterday (December 27, 2017) announced.
“By deploying LTE-A, we will have a more powerful network platform for offering a richer array of data services and digital life solutions to enterprises, families and individuals,” added Ernesto R. Alberto, PLDT Group Chief Revenue Officer.
In late 2017, Smart and technology partner Huawei Technologies Philippines started firing up 4CC base stations in Boracay and Marikina City, reaching speeds during internal tests of more than 300 Mbps in a single-user scenario and over 200 Mbps in a multiuser daytime set up, using Samsung’s flagship 4CC-capable smartphones, the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+.
“We are now bringing 4CC to Quezon City and other parts of Metro Manila. We will also start deploying this technology in other urban areas in different parts of the country where LTE-A handsets are already being used,” Tamayo explained.
In the recent report of OpenSignal, the international company that provides wireless service coverage mapping underlined that the countries with the fastest mobile data speeds “tend to be ones that have built LTE-Advanced networks and have a large proportion of LTE-Advanced capable devices.”
Smart’s LTE-A roll out is a follow through of its accelerated expansion of its LTE or Long-Term Evolution network over the past year. In 2016, Smart started to deploy LTE in multiple frequencies including low band spectrum such as 700 MHz, initially in Boracay and in Metro Davao.
In 2017, Smart’s LTE and 3G expansion program initially covered Metro Cebu, Rizal and Metro Manila and has since proceeded to other parts of the country.
This has been complemented by a 3G rollout in several frequency bands as well. As a result, the company expects to fulfill its commitment to the National Telecommunications Commission to cover over 90% of the country’s cities and towns with mobile broadband using LTE and 3G by early 2018.
Through its LTE rollout, Smart has led the way in improving mobile Internet speeds in the country. According to OpenSignal, Smart has consistently led in terms of LTE speeds across the country, posting an average download speed of 10.6 Mbps. Smart’s own recent internal tests showed median LTE download speeds, such as 17.9 Mbps in Metro Manila.
“We have supplemented our LTE rollout with 3G because many customers are still using 3G handsets. But the future of mobile broadband clearly lies with LTE,” Tamayo noted.
LTE has an advantage over 3G because it is an all-Internet Protocol, a pure data mobile network technology. This enables LTE to handle data much more efficiently. Furthermore, LTE can be quickly upgraded to LTE-A through the installation of additional software and some hardware upgrades.