Mobile services provider Smart Communications, Inc. has pushed ahead with the initial phase of its 5G commercial rollout. This makes the company the first provider in the Philippines to fire up 5G sites in key cities in Visayas and Mindanao. It fired up 5G sites in select areas in Boracay, Cebu, Iloilo, and Davao.
These areas add to the live Smart 5G sites in Makati Central Business District (CBD), Bonifacio Global City CBD, Araneta City, Mall of Asia Bay Area, North Avenue in Quezon City, Taft Avenue in Manila, Ortigas CBD, New Clark City in Pampanga, and EDSA. It is also in addition to the strategic locations in the provinces of Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal. Plus, the cities of Manila, Quezon City, Makati, Taguig, Pasig, Mandaluyong, Marikina, Parañaque, Valenzuela, Caloocan, Navotas, San Juan, and Pasay.
Moreover, Smart expands its 5G service to also cover all Smart Prepaid subscribers. This is in addition to the initial Smart 5G provision for all Postpaid subscribers announced in July. The step effectively makes it simpler for more Filipinos to experience significantly faster data speeds using 5G-certified devices with 5G-activated SIMs.
Smart 5G country
The latest evolution in wireless communications, 5G offers superfast data speeds and ultra-low latency. It enables users to upload and download heavy files in seconds, stream high-resolution videos seamlessly, play online games without lag, and benefit from other cutting-edge apps and services on their smartphone with fiber-like speeds.
To enable more subscribers to experience 5G, Smart has teamed up with smartphone manufacturers like Huawei, Samsung, realme, and vivo. The partnership enables offering 5G-certified devices at Smart Stores nationwide and on the Smart Online Store (store.smart.com.ph).
Subscribers can also experience 5G first-hand with the 5G-ready handsets featured at select Smart Stores in Metro Manila. They can enjoy it at the Smart Tower in Makati City, Gateway Mall, SM Mall of Asia, SM Megamall, and The World Plaza in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig.
Fastest mobile data network
Smart’s 5G rollout complements the mobile services provider’s extensive 4G/LTE and 3G network in the country, already considered the fastest in the Philippines by third-party mobile internet analytics firms such as Ookla and Opensignal.
Ookla recently named Smart as the country’s fastest mobile data network in the first half of 2020. The company achieved a Speed Score of 18.33, with average speeds of 15.94Mbps for download and 7.57 Mbps for upload. The results are based on 2,810,963 user-initiated tests taken with Speedtest.
Opensignal reported in its April 2020 Mobile Network Experience Report for the Philippines that Smart remained ahead of the competition. The advantages are in terms of Video Experience, Upload, and Download Speed Experience, Voice App Experience, Games Experience, and 4G Availability.
Leader in 5G
The strategy to deploy 5G has been embedded in Smart’s network planning over the past five years. PLDT’s wireless subsidiary started conducting tests with 5G in 2016. In 2018, it fired up the country’s first 5G base stations in Makati with Huawei. That is followed by the Clark Freeport Zone in Pampanga in partnership with Ericsson. Last year, Smart also launched the first 5G Lifestyle hub and 5G-enabled shopping mall in Araneta City. The first Smart 5G campus also launched at the Ateneo de Manila University with Nokia. These multi-vendor collaborations bring global use cases for Enterprise customers to innovate and fast-track their digital transformation journey.
It also recently fired up 5G at the Gariath Concepts esports venue in Quezon City. It is the first 5G-powered esports hub in the country. Meanwhile, the TV5 Media Center in Mandaluyong City is the first 5G Media City.
To know more, visit 5g.smart and follow Smart’s official accounts on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
