Smart LTE now in Cebu Safari and Adventure
PLDT wireless subsidiary Smart Communications Inc. (Smart) ramped up the roll-out of Long Term Evaluation (LTE) and LTE– Advanced network in the rest of Cebu Province, including Cebu`s newest popular tourist destination, Cebu Safari and Adventure Park, in the northern town of Carmen.
Internal tests around the park showed LTE download speeds ranging from 18 Mbps to 67 Mbps were reached using capable handsets in key park areas, such as the Welcome Pavilion, Michel`s Garden, Safari Stadium and the Safari Outpost.
To boost tourism, a major industry in the Visayas, especially in Cebu, Smart has partnered with tourism destinations in the region, such as Cebu Safari. This year, more areas have been powered by Smart LTE, including key tourism areas like Oslob, Moalboal, Daanbantayan, Medellin, Toledo City and Bogo City.
Smart has also expanded its LTE capacity in areas in Cebu City, Mandaue,Lapu-Lapu, Minglanilla and Talisay, while the LTE has been rolled out in Balamban, Barili, Catmon, Madridejos, Sibonga and Tabuelan.
“Being connected has a direct impact on the Filipino way of life, and improved connectivity enhances the lives of residents and helps boost local businesses,” said PLDT and Smart senior vice president for network planning and engineering Mario Tamayo, adding that in areas where improved LTE networks have been put in place, small business owners and retailers have also reported an increase in earnings, boosted by improved mobile internet experience in their area.
“Since Smart upgraded its network here in Cebu, our sales of Smart, Sun and TNT SIMs and load packages have also increased,” said Honey Liz Famador, a Smart retailer from Cebu City.
“My customers, mostly students, say that the connection is now much faster. They say it’s now easier for them to connect, to search on Google. It’s more convenient”, she added.
Improved connectivity
Outside of Cebu,Smart LTE has also been deployed in key cities around the Visayas, including Kalibo in Aklan,Tagbilaran City in Bohol, Roxas City in Capiz, Tacloban and Ormoc in Leyte, Jordan in Gimaras, Dumaguate City in Negros Oriental, Catbalogan City in Samar and Maasin City in Southern Leyte, to name a few.
“Our ramped-up roll-out in Cebu and the rest of the Visayas is part of Smart’s commitment to deliver word-class internet services to more Filipinos, wherever they may be in the country,” Tamayo said.
Recently, Smart also fired up LTE in Tacloban City, where improved connectivity has helped journalists send breaking news from all over Tacloban, as well as kept drivers playing long routes to and from the new Tacloban terminal in touch with their families throughout their days. In Ormoc City, improved fixed and mobile connectivity has made the city more attractive to investors, particularly business process outsourcing establishments.
Our ramped-up roll-out in Cebu and the rest of the Visayas is part of Smart’s commitment to deliver worldclass internet service to more Filipinos, wherever they may be in the country
Ramped-up LTE roll-out
Smart is accelerating its deployment of LTE, LTE-A and carrier aggregation across the country as part of Smart’s efforts to improved mobile data experience nationwide.
Carrier aggregation (CA) is a feature of LTE-A which enables the combination of two or more radio frequency bands to deliver much faster data speeds to mobile phone users.2- Component Carrier (2CC) carrier aggregation features the combination of two frequencies,while 3CC involves three frequencies and 4CC, four bands.
Smart is doubling the number of LTE base stations to about 17,700 nationwide and raising the number of LTE-equipped cell sites to more than 6,800 by the first quarter of 2019, using frequencies that are compatible with CA-capable smartphones available in the market today. /
MARIO TAMAYO
PLDT and Smart Senior Vice President for Network Planning and Engineering