Smart nears LTE rollout completion in Bulacan

PLDT Inc.’s Smart Communications said it was close to completing the rollout of LTE and LTE-Advanced services across the province of Bulacan.

The company said the initiative would bring high-speed mobile internet services to more subscribers in the province. Covered areas include Malolos, City of San Jose del Monte, Obando, Balagtas, San Ildefonso, San Miguel, San Rafael and Pulilan.

“Our network upgrades in Bulacan are part of our nationwide efforts to bring better connectivity across the country, in order to improve the lives of our customers and their families, and to enhance the productivity of Bulacan’s businesses and enterprises,” Mario Tamayo, senior vice president for network planning and engineering for PLDT and Smart, said in a statement on Thursday.

In the same statement, Smart said it was accelerating the rollout of carrier aggregation, a feature of LTE-Advanced that would allow faster and more stable mobile internet quality.

“Mobile internet experience is best experienced with LTE, and with appropriate devices, the frequency bands and carrier aggregation that our network supports,” Tamayo said.

PLDT earlier announced a record spending budget of P58 billion this year to boost its mobile and fixed-line networks.

As of end-September, Smart had equipped over 5,700 base stations across the country with LTE. Thus far, it had 14,400 LTE base stations—up 65 percent from the end of 2017.

The company added that it was on track to meeting its commitment to the National Telecommunications Commission to cover 90 percent of the country’s cities and municipalities with 3G/LTE coverage by the end of 2018. —MIGUEL R. CAMUS