Smart LTE, 3G speed up in Metro Cebu
Internal field tests in key areas in Metro Cebu showed that download speeds on Smart Communication, Inc.’s Long Term Evolution (LTE) service have jumped at least 146 percent to 19.7 Mbps, according to the company.
In certain areas like Cordova, download speeds have reached up to 52 Mbps while upload speeds have also risen by 134 percent to 14.3 Mbps.
Download speeds on Smart’s 3G service, on the other hand, have likewise risen 275 percent to 6 Mbps, while upload speeds improved 45 percent to 1.6 Mbps.
LTE speeds exceeding 20 Mbps have been recorded in both indoor and outdoor areas around Metro Cebu.
LTE speeds above 21 Mbps were also posted in Mactan and at the Mactan International Airport, while LTE reached speeds of 47 Mbps in Mandaue City.
On the other hand, speeds in excess of 90 Mbps have also been achieved in and around the Minglanilla Sports Complex, using carrier aggregation (CA) and LTE-Advanced (LTE-A)-capable handsets.
CA refers to the capability of LTE-A to combine two or more radio frequency bands in order to deliver bigger bandwidth and much faster data speeds to mobile users.
“We are accelerating the rollout of LTE because it provides an immediate boost to the speed, quality and reliability of our service,” noted Joachim Horn, chief technology and information advisor for PLDT and Smart.
Furthermore, “It lays the foundation for the rollout of LTE-A with CA and puts us in a position to improve Internet service as more handsets capable of CA become available in the market,” he added. “These are just initial results, and we are already nearing the midpoint of our implementation in Metro Cebu.”
“We are asking for people’s patience as we make changes in our network facilities,” added Horn. “These activities are being done during the most inactive hours of the day, and we are putting systems in place to minimize the impact on our subscribers.”
“In upgrading mobile and data services in Metro Cebu, we are helping improve the quality of life in one of the country’s biggest provinces, where millions work and play,” he also noted.
Metro Cebu is home to more than 2.8 million Filipinos, while passenger arrivals at the Mactan-Cebu International Airport hit nearly nine million last year. It is also the country’s largest outsourcing destination outside of Metro Manila.
“This progress in Metro Cebu is just a preview of what Smart will be rolling out to the rest of the island and the rest of the country — a fast and reliable mobile data network for all Smart subscribers,” said Horn.
Earlier, Smart completed its network overhaul program in Boracay and Metro Davao, where users have already reported improved quality of LTE services.
A major leg of this network expansion is also underway in Metro Manila, where it is expected to boost Smart’s voice, SMS, and mobile data services, specially its indoor LTE coverage.
In Rizal, Smart’s average LTE download speeds already jumped 455 percent to 23.3 Mbps and average 3G download speeds rose by 37 percent to 3.7 Mbps, on the back of significant increases in the number of LTE and 3G base stations in the province.
Smart’s network rollout took a big bulk of parent company PLDT’s capital expenditure program of $1 billion for 2016, with an additional $100 million allocated to use new frequencies acquired from San Miguel Corporation’s telco assets.
In the three-year network roll-out plan that PLDT submitted to the National Telecommunications Commission last July, Smart is focused on accelerating its LTE deployment to the service available to users in 1,551 cities and municipalities across the country by end-2018.