Smart to fire up 1,400 new LTE sites

MANILA, Philippines - Wireless giant Smart Communications Inc., a unit of dominant carrier Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT), is set to fire up 1,400 more new long-term evolution (LTE) sites to meet the growing demand for high-speed Internet services.

Smart is set to deploy an additional 1,000 Time Division-LTE sites to bring high-speed mobile broadband speeds to more cities and municipalities in Bulacan, Cavite, Cebu, Laguna, Pampanga, Rizal, and Metro Manila.

It is also beefing up its mobile network infrastructure by adding 400 more mobile LTE sites in Metro Manila as part of the continuing roll out program for LTE facilities.

Smart technology group head Rolando Pena said the additional sites would bring the total LTE footprint to more than 3,400 sites across the country.

“Our continuing investment to expand capacity, reach, and availability in our network allows us to deliver the best Internet experience to subscribers in both mobile and fixed platforms,” Pena said.

He added that Smart is also “deploying new technologies such as LTE Advanced to be able to respond to the expected demand in mobile data for years to come.”

The announcement comes on the heels of Smart’s recent activation of its LTE Advanced network in Mactan Island, Cebu during the recently concluded 10th Asian Carriers Conference.

During the event, Smart consistently recorded speeds of more than 100 Mbps using the next-generation mobile network technology.

This is the second site Smart has fired up for its next-generation LTE Advanced network, also referred to as ‘5G’ in some overseas markets.

The telco’s first LTE Advanced network initially went live at the JUMP Experience Center in Mandaluyong back in August.

Pena explained that the strategy of the company is to roll out a combination of network platforms to address the different needs and requirements of subscribers in different areas.

“Our mix of TD-LTE, HSPA+, and mobile LTE deployments respond to varying needs of the market, with the common goal of bringing the Internet closer to every Filipino,” he added.

According to him, the company intends to bring high-speed Internet access to homes through Fiber-To-The-Home (FTTH) and DSL to 1,725 areas or vilages with a total capacity of 300,000 lines by the end of the year from 1,463 areas or villages in 121 cities and municipalities.

 Smart is able to deploy a mix of fixed and wireless technologies because the PLDT Group has rolled out more than 90,000 kilometers of fiber-optic cables around the country. It has also modernized its mobile network to make more than 10,000 sites 4G-enabled, enabling it to quickly roll out LTE services via a simple software update.

Charles Lim, executive vice president and head of the Wireless Consumer Division at Smart, said the company is able to deliver the best and fastest mobile experience to subscribers as validated by a series of field tests and various customer engagement activities nationwide.

“But we’ve gone a step further and validated this with users on the ground. In sample tests conducted in at least 500 areas nationwide, Smart emerged with the fastest mobile speeds among telcos. This is further validated by speed tests conducted by users in more than 100 areas nationwide,” Lim said.