A global benchmarking company has recognized PLDT’s wireless subsidiary Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) as having the best-rated mobile network.
Smart has won the highest award from the infrastructure and benchmarking specialist umlaut, part of Accenture, for the third time in the last three years.
Umlaut recognized Smart for having the top-rated upload speeds, download speeds, and latency experience in granting the ‘Best in Test’ accolade—a testament to Smart’s long-standing initiatives to consistently expand their network and provide enhanced mobile services.
According to umlaut, Smart received an overall score of 801 out of a possible 1,000 points. The survey, which contained 985 million samples collected between May and October 2022, also showed Smart leading in mobile wireless voice, internet browsing, mobile video and gaming, and OTT messaging performance.
Smart’s score achievements include voice measurements such as call set-up times and call quality; data metrics such as upload and download speeds, web browsing, and consistently strong and reliable throughput across the country; and crowdsourcing components such as coverage quality and session reliability.
Umlaut CEO Telecommunication Hakan Ekmen and umlaut representatives recently met with PLDT and Smart network executives led by PLDT Network Head Eric Santiago to present the prize. Head of Network Quality Radames Zalameda, Head of Network Strategy and Planning John Emill Buencamino, Head of Network Build and Implementation Debbie M. Hu, and Head of Network Design Arvin L. Siena were also present.
“This is a great recognition by umlaut. We at PLDT like to say that our customers are our North Star. The mobile benchmarking by umlaut demonstrates that we have delivered on that promise and underscores our efforts to sustain our leadership in the marketplace,” said PLDT Network Head Eric Santiago, who added that moving forward, PLDT will also include artificial intelligence and machine learning technology to ensure continuous improvements.
“The true barometer of our network’s performance is the experience of our customers. These tests by umlaut are based on real-world experience, and we are heartened by these results that show that our investments are paying off. However, our work does not end here as we intend to continue improving our network in order to elevate the experience of our customers. Whatever their use case may be — may it be for video, gaming or work — our aim is to deliver the best possible experience,” he added.
Smart had deployed 77,200 base stations as of the end of September, including 7,300 5G base stations and nearly 40,000 4G/LTE base stations. Smart’s network, which includes 3G, LTE, and 5G, covers 97% of the population.
Smart’s mobile network is supported by PLDT’s fiber infrastructure, the most extensive in the country. As of end-September, PLDT has expanded its total fiber footprint to about 1,091,000 kilometers, consisting of over 231,000 kilometers of international fiber and almost 860,000 kilometers of domestic fiber.
