Network expansion boosts speed, revenues

PLDT and its wireless subsidiary Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) have accelerated the rollout of the group’s fixed and wireless networks, boosting data speeds and company revenues in the first half of the year.

As of end-June, Smart has installed more than 3,900 Long Term Evolution (LTE) base stations, increasing the total count by 45 percent to over 12,600, enabling Smart to improve its LTE coverage, as well as to activate LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), which offers even higher data speeds and capacity.

Aside from rolling out LTE and LTE-A across Metro Manila, Smart has also successfully fired up LTE and LTE-A as far north as Batanes, Sagada and Cagayan, as well as in Palawan, Sorsogon, Cebu, Bohol, Leyte, Davao and Sarangani, to name a few.

With the rollout, Smart is on track to fulfill its commitment to the National Telecommunications Commission to provide high-speed wireless data services in over 90 percent of the country’s cities and municipalities by the end of 2018.

As of end-June, PLDT has widened the coverage of its fiber-power fixed broadband network to 5.07 million homes and boosted its capacity to 1.86 million ports, nearing its full-year target of 2.2 million ports.

Underpinning PLDT and Smart’s fixed and mobile network roll-out was the expansion of PLDT’s fiber optic transmission and distribution network.

In the first half of 2018, PLDT increased its fiber footprint to 204,000 kilometers, rolling out over 29,000 kilometers of fiber cable further increasing the reach, capacity and resiliency of PLDT’s fiber network.

These expansion projects enhanced Smart’s mobile network by providing high-capacity fiber connections for LTE base stations.

With extensive fiber coverage, PLDT is transforming entire areas into fiber-enabled “Smart cities.” Toledo City, Cebu was the first to roll out full coverage of fiber-to-the-home in the area, followed by General Santos City in Mindanao, Naga in the Bicol Region and South Metro Manila which includes Parañaque and Las Piñas, East Metro Manila which includes Pasig and Antipolo and central business districts like Rockwell Makati and Bonifacio Global City.