Smart completes national upgrade in Metro Manila
PLDT wireless arm Smart Communications Inc. has completed its latest round of network upgrades in Metro Manila that aim to provide customers with faster internet speed in their smartphones.
Smart, TNT and Sun customers in the cities of Marikina, Quezon City, Caloocan, Malabon, Mandaluyong, Pasig, San Juan, Valenzuela, Makati, Manila, Taguig, Parañaque and Pasay could now use the enhanced Long Term Evolution (LTE) and LTE-Advanced networks that have already been put in place, PLDT said.
To date, Smart said it has fulfilled its commitment to the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to cover at least 90 percent of cities and municipalities to address the growing demand for broadband infrastructure and internet access within three years from the grant of the use of frequencies by the NTC in 2016.
“These network enhancement and expansion activities are part of our commitment to provide world-class connectivity to the country’s primary urban hub and the rest of the nation,” PLDT and Smart senior vice president for network planning and engineering Mario Tamayo said.
Smart is undertaking an ongoing round of network expansion efforts covering southern Metro Manila cities of Las Piñas and Muntinlupa.
It is accelerating its deployment of LTE, LTE-Advanced, and carrier aggregation across Metro Manila and the rest of the country as part of the company’s efforts to improve mobile data experience nationwide.
In line with the ramped-up LTE-A rollout, Smart said all of Metro Manila’s cities already have at least 3CC (3-Component Carrier).
Meanwhile, in Quezon City which is home to three million people and hundreds of business establishments, Smart has activated up to 5CC aggregation.
With 5CC, the company said users of capable devices such as the Samsung Galaxy S9 can experience speeds of up to 500 mbps.
“Carrier aggregation is a feature of LTE-A which enables the combination of two or more radio frequency bands in order to deliver much faster data speeds to mobile phone users. 2-Component Carrier carrier aggregation features the combination of two frequencies, while 3CC involves three frequencies and 4CC, four bands,” Smart said.
“Users of 3CC-capable smartphones can experience speeds of up to 300 Mbps, while users of 4CC-capable smartphones like the Samsung Galaxy S8 can experience up to 400 Mbps speeds in areas where 3-component and 4-component carrier aggregation have been activated,” it added.
As of end-September, Smart has installed about 5,700 new LTE base stations across the country, boosting the total count to about 14,400, a 65-percent increase from the end-2017 count. Smart also increased the number of 3G base stations on its network to about 11,000.
“With our improved fixed and wireless networks, we are in the best position to serve our customers’ growing need for digital services, particularly video. As we roll-out LTE and LTE-A to more areas, we are also helping families stay connected, empowering entrepreneurs, and aiding local governments deliver timely services to their people,” Tamayo said.
In addition to network upgrades, Smart is partnering with popular smartphone manufacturers in getting more affordable LTE-capable handsets out in the market, like the Samsung J2 Core, Oppo A37 and Starmobile Play Click.