MANILA – PLDT wireless unit, Smart Communications, announced that it has deployed more Long Term Evolution (LTE) and LTE-Advanced sites nationwide during the year's first half, resulting in higher mobile data traffic.
In a statement Tuesday, Smart said more than 60 percent of its sites were already upgraded to LTE standard while 62 percent of the LTE sites are already LTE-A capable.
Mobile data traffic increased by 79 percent in the first half of 2018 compared to the first half of 2017 higher than the industry year-on-year growth of 54 percent for the same period.
The firm has likewise deployed its 5 component carrier (5CC) aggregation technology in Quezon City and activated 5CC in Boracay and Marikina, where speeds of over 500 Mbps were achieved using 5CC-capable smartphones such as the Samsung Galaxy S9.
Carrier aggregation is a component of LTE-A which enables the combination of two or more radiofrequency bands to deliver higher bandwidth and faster data speeds to smartphone users.
“Technology and connectivity have a direct impact on people’s lives. With this accelerated rollout of LTE, LTE-A and carrier aggregation across the country, we are not just improving speeds. We are also connecting families, empowering entrepreneurs and small businesses, and boosting local governments,” said Mario G. Tamayo, PLDT and Smart senior vice president for network planning and engineering.
Smart is also eyeing the greater use of LTE and LTE-A-capable mobile phones and devices by its subscribers amid its ongoing network rollout through expanding PLDT’s fiber optic transmission and distribution network.
In the first half of 2018, PLDT increased its fiber footprint to about 204,000 kilometers after adding over 29,000 kilometers of fiber cable which is 97 percent of its target for 2018.
Its fiber network has provided high capacity fiber connections for LTE base stations nationwide.
PLDT has allocated PHP 58 billion for capital expenditure this year, which will be used for the rollout of its fixed and mobile networks. (PR)
