Customers of Smart in Metro Manila can look forward to improved mobile data services as the telco’s network upgrades continue in the country’s primary urban center.
“As the Filipino lifestyle becomes more digital, we are continuously improving our network to be there for our customers like never before,” said Mario G. Tamayo, PLDT and Smart Senior Vice President for Network Planning and Engineering. “We are halfway through in North NCR, while we are close to completion in South NCR,” he added.
North NCR Speed: 21.Mbps, South: 14.4Mbps
Internal tests conducted recently show that the average download speed on Smart’s LTE service is 21.5 Mbps in North NCR areas covering Quezon City, Caloocan, Valenzuela, Novaliches, Malabon, Mandaluyong, San Juan, Pasig, Manila, Makati, Pasay, and Marikina. An average of 14.4 Mbps was reached in South NCR areas Muntinlupa, Las Piñas, Taguig and Parañaque.
These figures were bolstered by results of the latest J.P.Morgan Asia Network Quality study, which found that LTE availability in Metro Manila has increased from 49 percent at the start of the year to 63 percent in the latest study.
The study, which covered the months of April to June and cited crowd-sourced data gathered by wireless coverage research firm OpenSignal, also found that Smart has a “significant lead in LTE speeds” across all areas.
Rest of the country: 11Mbps
Nationwide, it maintained its lead in LTE download speeds at 11 Mbps, while it also led across areas: In Metro Manila (12.9 Mbps average download speed vs competition’s 7.6 Mbps), in South Luzon (9.5 Mbps vs 6.2 Mbps), and in the Visayas (8.3 Mbps vs 6.3 Mbps).
In addition to re-equipping its cell sites to improve both indoor coverage and capacity, Smart has also been working to improve LTE coverage for thousands of Metro Manila commuters on EDSA, and improving mobile data experience in Smart Wifi-powered entertainment and lifestyle hubs called Smart Spots.
More telco-grade Smart WiFi in Public Places
Also part of Smart’s network expansion program is the rollout of carrier-grade Smart Wifi in strategic areas such as airports and transport hubs, universities, hospitals, government offices, and the MRT and LRT. With a backhaul capacity of up to one gigabit per second, Smart Wifi can support up to 3,000 connected users with robust Wifi connectivity.
Network advisories
In the midst of these network improvement efforts, Smart customers have also reported receiving text messages advising them of the schedule of these upgrades and warning them of a possible intermittent signal while these are ongoing.
