Smart Ramps Up Nationwide LTE Rollout, But Report Says Philippines Still Behind Global LTE Standards

The other big mobile telecommunications company in the country, Smart Communications, announced its plans to speed up the upgrading of its network towards providing better and wider LTE coverage all over the country. This news comes weeks after an international report stated that the country was way behind global LTE standards.

Smart, which is the wireless subsidiary of telco PLDT, said that it is ready to bring high-speed LTE service to other parts of the country. The company has initially tested their improved LTE services in southern Metro Manila, Rizal province and Cebu.

Faster LTE For The Rest Of The Country

According to a Manila Bulletin report, Smart has finished conducting tests in the selected areas. These tests showed LTE average download speeds of 16.3 Mbps and upload speeds of 13.4 Mbps. So far, only the cities of Las Piñas, Taguig, Parañaque and Muntinlupa in Metro Manila are experiencing this improvement.

Rizal Province, which is located near southern Metro Manila, has observed average LTE upload speeds of 16.3 Mbps and download speeds as high as 24.2 Mbps.

Cebu, a regional commercial and tourist hub, also got a huge boost in LTE speeds. According to the report, network upgrades have brought up the average LTE download speeds to 20.9 Mbps and upload speeds of 15.5 Mbps. For users, this means better LTE experience especially in bandwidth-heavy activities such as video streaming and sharing and online gaming.

Better LTE Coverage And Better Service Coming?

Smart first started its LTE service in April 2016, while Globe is a little bit ahead, with over 500 LTE cell sites all over the country as of end 2016.

According to a report by OpenSignal, a British wireless coverage company, the country remains way behind in terms of high-speed mobile interner service. The report, which was released mid-March, also noted that Smart outdid Globe when in comes to LTE speed, with Smart’s 9.87 Mbps average, compared to Globe’s 7.4 Mbps. Globe however, has better LTE coverage than Smart, with its hundreds of cell sites.

Philippines LTE Behind Global Standards

When comparing Philippine LTE speeds with what is already available internationally, it falls short of the 17.4 Mbps global average. OpenSignal also noted how difficult it was to “acquire an LTE signal” during their tests.

The report however noted a positive outlook for the country, especially with both Globe and Smart pushing for network upgrades in the coming years. Smart is targeting an additional 785 municipalities with LTE coverage by the end of 2017. Globe on the other hand continues its expansion of LTE services, in addition to the 2,600 LTE sites it already has as of March 2017.