On April 12, PLDT wireless subsidiary Smart Communications (Smart) has begun to roll out the country’s first LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) service.
Initially deployed in Boracay, Aklan, one of the country’s leading tourist destinations, Smart’s LTE-A service there has posted speeds of up to 250 Mbps.
Related: Smart UltaSpeed LTE gets tested in Davao, reaches 210Mbps!
See also: Switched On: Smart LTE-A; 1Gigabyte per second Internet speed
“With the introduction of our LTE-Advanced service, the next stage of development of 4th generation of mobile technology, Smart is again at the technology forefront, setting the bar higher for mobile service experience,” said Joachim Horn, PLDT and Smart chief technology and information advisor.
Smart joins the short list of operators around the world, to include Optus in Australia, Sprint in the US, and Turkcell in Turkey that have tested and rolled out the technology. This ultra-high-speed mobile internet speed is also referred to as 4.5G.
Who can experience superfast LTE-A speed?
Smart subscribers using LTE-A capable devices. If your device is an LTE device and it Cat. 6 in its specs, this will translate into superior experiences when using various data services, particularly bandwidth-heavy services like video- and audio-streaming, and gaming.
What Smart handsets is LTE-A capable?
Currently, the LTE-A capable devices include the Samsung Galaxy S7 and the Samsung Galaxy S7 edge. Other handset manufacturers are expected to introduce their own LTE-A devices soon.
Smart ran several tests of LTE-A in 2013 – in Boracay during the Geeks on a Beach startup conference; in Davao City during the Kadayawan festival; and in Makati City. The introduction of LTE-A capable devices since then has opened the door for its roll-out.
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