Smart Communications has begun rolling out the country’s first LTE-Advanced (LTE-A). The new service boasts theoretical download speeds of 200 to 250 Mbps. The telco started deployment in Boracay, Aklan, with other areas following soon.
Smart is now one of the few operators around the world that have tested and rolled out the technology. Other telcos include includes Optus in Australia, Sprint in the US, and Turkcell in Turkey, among others.
“With the introduction of our LTE-Advanced service, the next stage of development of 4th generation of mobile technology, Smart is again at the technology forefront, setting the bar higher for mobile service experience,” said Joachim Horn, PLDT and Smart chief technology and information advisor.
Smart LTE-A
LTE-A works through carrier aggregation, which combines two or more radio frequency bands to deliver a bigger bandwidth, allowing for faster data speeds for mobile subscribers.
According to Horn, it is akin to putting together two or more separate highways in order to create a wider highway through which vehicular traffic can flow more freely and at a much faster rate. In Boracay, the telco combined three frequencies to achieve 200 to 250 Mbps.
For Smart subscribers using LTE-A capable devices, this translates to improved data speeds, particularly in bandwidth-heavy services like video- and audio-streaming, and gaming.
Currently, only a handful of flagship devices support LTE-A, including the Samsung Galaxy S7 and the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge.
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