Leading integrated telco network PLDT Inc. (PLDT) and its wireless subsidiary Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) have received recognition from numerous international award-giving bodies for providing top-notch network services in 2022.
“These awards are a testament that our investments in continuously improving and expanding our network are bearing fruit. These awards serve to inspire us to keep working to enhance the experience of our customers on our network in order to empower their digital lifestyles, boost their livelihoods and keep them connected to their families and loved ones,” said Eric Santiago, PLDT Network Head.
In its most recent analysis spanning Q1-Q2 2022, international benchmarking company Ookla named Smart’s wireless network as the Philippines’ Fastest and Best Mobile Network for the year’s first half.
However, the fastest broadband service in the Philippines continues to be PLDT Home, which won the Ookla SpeedtestTM Awards Q1–Q2 2022* for the fifth consecutive year.
Since the Speedtest AwardsTM program began in 2017, Ookla has only bestowed the Best Mobile Network designation to about 20 mobile operators worldwide, with Smart becoming the first and only Philippine mobile provider to do so. To get this recognition, a mobile operator must take the top spot in the Fastest Mobile Network and Best Mobile Coverage categories of the Ookla Speedtest AwardsTM during the same test period.
Based on Ookla’s study of Speedtest Intelligence data for Q3 2022, Smart is also the fastest mobile network for Apple, Samsung, and Android devices.
In addition to winning the Ookla awards, Smart also won the top prize from the infrastructure and benchmarking expert umlaut, a division of Accenture, for the third time in the previous three years.
The German company umlaut recognized Smart as the “Top in Test” winner and noted that it had the best upload, download, and latency ratings. This is a result of Smart’s ongoing efforts to improve its network and offer better mobile services.
In the meantime, Smart has won the APAC Operator Award for Best Example of Automation Deployment at the recently held FutureNet Asia Event in October 2022 in partnership with P.I. Works.
To automate its multi-vendor, multi-technology networks, Smart teamed with P.I. Works to develop a comprehensive approach for its Network Automation Solution, EXA. EXA is a self-organizing network automation system created to improve customer experience by increasing efficiency, simplification, and speed in the planning, configuration, performance management, coverage, and quality optimization and healing of mobile radio access networks.
The largest fiber network in the nation, which as of the end of September, covered more than 1.09 million kilometers in both domestic and international fiber, enables this level of performance. The mobile network of Smart, which provides 3G, LTE, and 5G coverage to 97% of the population, is also supported by this fiber backbone.
