PLDT wireless subsidiary, Smart Communications announced that it has to date upgraded more than 60% of its sites nationwide to LTE, while 62% of Smart’s LTE sites across the country are already LTE-A capable.
Amid these network upgrade efforts, mobile data traffic grew by 79% in the first half of 2018 compared to the first half of 2017, higher than the industry year-on-year growth of 54% for the same period.
Smart has also fired up up to 5-component-carrier (5CC) aggregation in Metro Manila’s most populous metropolis, Quezon City. It has previously activated 5CC in Boracay and Marikina, where speeds of over 500 Mbps were achieved using 5CC-capable smartphones such as the Samsung Galaxy S9.
Carrier aggregation (CA) is a feature of LTE-A which enables the combination of two or more radio frequency bands in order to deliver bigger bandwidth and much faster data speeds to mobile phone users. 2-Component Carrier (2CC) carrier aggregation features the combination of two frequencies, while 3CC involves the combination of three frequencies, 4CC combines four bands, and 5CC, five bands.
As of end-June, Smart said its has installed over 3,900 new LTE base stations across the country, not only to expand LTE coverage but also to lay the ground for LTE-A, which can provide even greater capacity and speeds to users with capable smartphones. This puts the total count of LTE base stations at over 12,600.
Mario G, Tamayo, PLDT and Smart, SVP for Network Planning and Engineering
Technology and connectivity have a direct impact on people’s lives. With this accelerated rollout of LTE, LTE-A and carrier aggregation across the country, we are not just improving speeds. We are also connecting families, empowering entrepreneurs and small businesses, and boosting local governments.
