After successful LTE multicast, Smart claims network now at par with Verizon, Telstra

MANILA, Philippines - Smart Communications Inc. said its network is at par with that of Verizon of the US and Telstra of Australia after a successful video multicast over long term evolution (LTE) connection in the Philippines and Southeast Asia.

Network equipment provider Huawei Technologies said the successful LTE multicast trial of Smart was the first in Southeast Asia and the world’s first over 2.1 GHz frequency.

LTE is currently the fastest commercially available 4G wireless broadband coverage for mobile networks, which allows users to download data at speeds reaching up to 100 mbps.

Called the evolved Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Services (eMBMS), the emerging technology taps the functionality and speed of LTE to deliver rich or pre-loaded multimedia content including live video, news, music, software, ads and other data to a large number of consumers efficiently.

For its pilot LTE multicast, Smart seamlessly streamed pre-loaded videos on three channels from its base station in Quezon City to another base station in Makati on three LTE-capable handsets provided by Huawei as well as a TV set equipped with a device that converts data received by an LTE SIM.

Smart and PLDT Technology Group Head Roland Peña said the successful trial puts Smart’s network at par with industry leaders Verizon and Telstra that have kicked off trials on their LTE networks.

“As the forerunner of LTE technology in the country, Smart is proud to hit a new milestone for the country and blaze the trail for eMBMS, which extends the capabilities of our robust LTE infrastructure. Among many things, this successful trial shows the readiness of our network to deliver the services of the future,” Peña said.

He pointed out that the eMBMS technology opens up a wide array of possibilities to serve consumers with PLDT’s supercharged network.

“Smart has consistently been forward-looking, and this successful initiative allows us to see a glimpse of the future now,” he added.

According to him, major telecoms in Korea and United Kingdom have also expressed interest in eMBMS technology early this year because of the growing usage of mobile multimedia content around the world.

Since it pioneered and launched the use of LTE in the Philippines in August 2012, Smart has grown its LTE coverage to over 1,200 sites in 180 cities and municipalities.

Smart LTE also covers all 17 cities and municipalities that make up Metro Manila.

Last August, Smart also successfully conducted the country’s first trial of LTE-Advanced, which can support data services with speeds of from 100 to 400 Mbps.

Smart also offers HSPA+ and WiMax as part of its suite of 4G technologies via its 10,000 4G-capable base stations covering 85 percent of the country’s population, or around 78.4 million Filipinos. The PLDT Group’s cellular subscriber base stood at 72.5 million as of end-September. Smart had 24.7 million subscribers while value brand Talk ‘N Text ended with 31.9 million. Digital Telecommunications Philippines Inc. had 15.8 million Sun Cellular subscribers.

On the other hand, PLDT’s combined broadband subscriber base stood at 3.3 million in the first nine months of 2013. For the fixed line businesses of both PLDT and Digitel, the subscriber base remained at 2.1 million.