Smart Communications is beefing up its 5G network capacity in cities and urban areas to support growing 5G adoption, rolling out 2,500 additional 5G base stations across the country.
As of end-June 2022, Smart has rolled out around 77,100 total base stations nationwide, supporting its 3G, 4G/LTE and 5G customers. This includes 7,300 5G base stations.
Bulk of the new additional 5G base stations Smart rolled out in the first half of the year alone were deployed in the Metro Manila cities of Las Piñas, Makati, Mandaluyong, Manila, Muntinlupa, Parañaque, Pasay, Quezon City and Taguig; Tarlac City; Silang in Cavite; Cabuyao, Lumban, and Santa Rosa in Laguna;
Iloilo City and Dumangas in Iloilo; the cities of Bacolod and Sagay in Negros Occidental; the cities of Cebu, Lapu-Lapu, and Mandaue in Cebu; Baybay, Ormoc and Palo in Leyte;
The cities of Pagadian and Zamboanga in Zamboanga del Sur; Cagayan de Oro City; Butuan City in Agusan del Norte; and the cities of Digos and Davao in Davao del Sur.
According to the latest Ericsson Mobility Report, 5G mobile subscriptions will surpass 1 billion in 2022. In South East Asia and Oceania, where the Philippines belongs, 5G subscriptions were around 15 million at the end of 2021 and are expected to more than double in 2022, the Ericsson report also said.
This continued expansion puts Smart’s 3G, 4G/LTE and 5G population coverage at 97% as of end-June.
Also Read: Smart teams up with Omnispace to explore space-based 5G technologies
Bolstering PLDT’s commitment to support the country’s digital transformation is the Company’s sustained investments in its network. Network-related initiatives made up the bulk of the ₱89 billion spend for 2021. This brings PLDT’s total capex spent over the last 10 years to ₱518.5 billion. Capex guidance for 2022 is at ₱85 billion.
