Huawei says Smart network at par with NTC standards

MANILA, Philippines - International network equipment provider Huawei reported over the weekend that the “super-charged” mobile network of wireless giant Smart Communications Inc. is compliant with the standards set by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC).

Smart technology services division head Mar Tamayo said Huawei informed the company that it has successfully completed the 90-day post-modernization observation period of its “super-charged” mobile network with the completion of the P67.1-billion modernization program undertaken by Smart’s parent firm Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT).

“Huawei has fulfilled its end in helping Smart build the Philippines’ most advanced mobile network,” Tamayo stressed.

He said Huawei optimization engineers disclosed that the network consistently exceeded the standards and requirements in all areas where the tests were conducted between July and September.

Huawei is the network supplier of Smart for Visayas and Mindanao.

Using an industry-standard “Drive Test Tool”, a series of tests conducted during the observation period reinforces the superiority of Smart’s mobile network across all key performance indices (KPIs).

“These KPIs are consistent with the standards set by local regulatory institutions, and consistent with global benchmark standards,” he added.

The abovementioned criteria are also the same service quality benchmarks used by the NTC.

“With Huawei’s world class equipment in place, the country is now ready to enter the next phase of development of the telecommunications industry,” he said.

Earlier, Ericsson revealed that Smart’s North and South Luzon networks showed consistently high performance in all key performance indices.

Apart from delivering a superior network quality experience, new equipment such as the Ericsson RBS6000 radio base station makes possible the deployment of next generation services such as long-term evolution (LTE) mobile technology to more areas nationwide.

Meanwhile, network supplier Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) has commissioned independent British firm AIRCOM International to run a series of mobile network quality benchmark tests using parameters consistent with those of the NTC and international standards.

The tests confirmed that Smart network complying to high international standards for both voice and data, following the release of the results of network quality tests from Oct. 29 to 31.

Last Nov. 13, NTC reported that the services of both Smart and Ayala-controlled Globe Telecom Inc. improved after they were given two months to improve their network performance after failing the monitoring in the second quarter.

NTC director for common carrier authorization department Edgardo Cabarios said Smart and Globe registered a significant improvement in their grade of service or rate of blocked calls in September compared to April to June.

Based on the quality of service benchmarking tests last September, Cabarios said the grade of service of Smart improved to 2.54 percent from 9.95 percent in the second quarter while that of Globe improved to 2.75 percent from 4.45 percent.

Blocked calls or grade of service refers to the percentage of calls that were not given access by the network or percentage of the network failure to establish connection between the caller and the receiver.