Smart to more than double LTE cell sites by end of Q2

MANILA, Philippines - Mobile leader Smart Communications Inc., a unit of dominant carrier Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT), is set to more than double the number of its fourth-generation (4G) Long Term Evolution (LTE) – capable cell sites by the end of the second quarter next year.

PLDT and Smart president Napoleon Nazareno said in an interview that the number of LTE-capable cell sites is expected to reach 2,500 by the end of the second quarter of next year from the current number of about 1,200.

Nazareno added that the number of cities covered by LTE-capable cell sites would also increase from the current 174 cities, including Metro Manila, Quezon City, Makati, Pasig, Marikina, Mandaluyong, Antipolo, Las Piñas, Parañaque, Muntinlupa, San Juan, Taguig, Cainta, Taytay, Binangonan, Caloocan, and Pasay.

The sites also cover certain portions of Cavite, Rizal, Batangas, Laguna, Rizal, Bulacan, Pampanga, Zambales, Bataan, Tarlac, La Union, Pangasinan, Benguet, Nueva Ecija, Ilocos Sur, Ilocos Norte, Isabela, Cagayan, Cebu, Davao del Sur, Bohol, Iloilo, Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental, Aklan, Misamis Oriental, Leyte, Capiz, Zamboanga del Sur, Camarines Sur, Albay, and Masbate.

Smart has attained double the data speed of current 4G LTE technology in recent trials in Metro Manila and Davao City using ‘LTE-Advanced’.

A mobile broadband technology which can deliver data rates in excess of 200 megabits per second (mbps), up to a possible 700mbps, LTE-Advanced is currently deployed by operators in South Korea, the United Kingdom, and various South American countries.

It allows users to download data at speeds twice as fast as 4G networks and 10 times faster than 3G services.

At trials held first in Makati City in cooperation with network equipment provider Huawei Philippines, Smart chief wireless advisor Orlando Vea saw the test facilities achieving break-neck speeds of up to 209.66 mbps, over twice the 100 mbps top speed of LTE.

“LTE Advanced is the next step forward for mobile broadband, and we look forward to many new possible applications of this ultra-fast technology that will benefit Filipinos and keep the Philippines abreast with the most technologically advanced countries in the world,” Vea said earlier.

During the Kadayawan festival in Davao City, Smart also achieved LTE-Advanced speeds of up to 210.58 mbps.

The PLDT Group including Smart boasts of the Philippines’ most extensive fiber network with over 71,000 kilometers of total fiber footprint inclusive of 7,200 kilometers of international submarine fiber, and over 4,000 kilometers of domestic submarine fiber.

Unlike traditional copper wires that use electricity to transmit data, fiber uses pulses of light allowing for quick and lossless uploads and downloads.

“By combining high-speed wireless access technologies like LTE Advanced with PLDT and Smart’s extensive fiber optic network, we can provide customers with an unmatched broadband experience well into the future,” Vea said.

The net income of PLDT inched up two percent to P19.7 billion in the first half of the year from P19.3 billion in the same period last year as revenues likewise grew two percent to P75.7 billion from P74.2 billion.

In terms of subscriber base, he said the PLDT Group booked 73.4 million cellular phone subscribers consisting of 31.8 million for Talk n’ Text, 25.5 million for Smart Communications Inc., and 16.1 million for Sun Cellular of Digital Telecommunications of the Philippines Inc. (Digitel).