Smart User? Here’s How You Can Enjoy Faster Mobile Internet

PLDT through Smart Communications is pushing for faster mobile internet speed throughout the country. Using LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) and Carrier Aggregation (CA) technology, Smart users are expected to feel a significant boost in internet speeds, capacity, and coverage. It enables Smart users to enjoy speeds as high as 500 Mbps.

Smart Pushes The Limit To 5CC CA

CA is a feature of LTE-A that enables the combination of different frequency channels. 2CC is a combination of 2 frequency bands while 3CC is the combination of 3 frequencies and so on and so forth. The bigger the bandwidth, the faster the data speeds for mobile users.

Smart started commercially deploying LTE-A in Boracay back in April 2016. Now, the company has kicked up 3CC CA sites in major cities across the country. Some of these cities are Baguio, Santa Rosa, Calamba, Iloilo, Bacolod, Cagayan de Oro, and Zamboanga.

PLDT is quickly taking it further. In a statement, the company said that it had started to activate 5CC CA setups in Marikina City. 5CC CA boosts data speeds to 500 Mbps. Tests conducted for the new upgrade showed that Smart’s LTE-A network consistently reached the 500 Mbps mark. More than that, it reached a maximum of 558 Mbps at one point.

“Our LTE-A deployment proves that we have a network that’s capable of providing unprecedented data speeds and world-class internet quality, and has enough capacity to efficiently meet the rapidly rising mobile data traffic,” said the senior vice president for network planning and engineering at PLDT and Smart Mario G. Tamayo in a statement.

Most Android phones display the LTE-A network as “4G+.” iOS devices display it as “LTE.” However, not all phones are compatible with the LTE-A network. Some phone models that are readily compatible with the network start with Apple’s iPhone 6s, LG’s G Flex 2, Nokia’s Lumia 950, Samsung’s Galaxy Alpha and Sony’s Xperia Z3.

Smart Offers Additional Features

In addition to CA, Smart is also using the 4×4 Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO). MIMO uses multiple antennas to send and receive data which raises the efficiency of band frequencies. The last feature is the 256 QAM. It allows bigger data exchange between a cell site tower and a device with good radio condition. Smart users need the combination of a compatible device and the LTE-A network to experience mobile internet like never before.

Recently, Smart also launched the Giga X plans. The plan offers 10GB data allocation for video streaming along with increased open data allocations and free LTE handsets. One of their offers is the Huawei Mate 10 Pro which is 3CC CA compatible. The other two devices offered besides it are the Oppo F5 and Samsung Galaxy J2 Pro.  

“Along with our commitment to roll out LTE-A nationwide, more LTE-A capable devices in the hands of more users is the other half of the key that will lift the mobile data speeds in the country, and put the Philippines at par with the likes of Singapore and South Korea,” Tamayo said in a report by Inquirer.