The country’s two largest telecom companies said they upgraded their networks nationwide to provide faster broadband to the public.
Smart Communications Inc. said it rolled out commercial 5G services in key cities in the Visayas and Mindanao, while Globe Telecom Inc. began upgrading its network to 4G in key areas in the Visayas and Mindanao after nearly completing the modernization in Metro Manila and most parts of Rizal, Bulacan and Cavite,
Globe said it fired up 86 percent of its target migration to 4G in Metro Manila. Pateros, Marikina City, Valenzuela City, Malabon City and Navotas are the cities with the highest percentage of completion. The rest of the National Capital Region is not far behind at 73 percent.
“With the upgrades, we are hoping to help not just the ordinary Filipinos but also those who are making the most out of the COVID-19 pandemic. With 4G, small and medium businesses will get the boost they need now that the traditional means to sell are no longer applicable to sustain their survival,” said Joel Agustin, Globe senior vice president for program delivery at network technical group.
Globe also plans to improve its network in Pampanga, Batangas, Laguna, Cebu (Cebu City, Lapu-Lapu City, Mandaue City, Talisay City), Davao City, Iloilo City, Bacolod City and Boracay.
Smart, which launched its 5G service commercially in July, is rolling out Smart 5G in key areas in Boracay, Cebu, Iloilo and Davao.
These areas add to the live Smart 5G sites in Makati central business district, Bonifacio Global City CBD, Araneta City, Mall of Asia Bay Area, North Ave. in Quezon City, Taft Ave. in Manila, Ortigas CBD, New Clark City in Pampanga, EDSA and in strategic locations in Cavite, Laguna, Rizal and the cities of Manila, Quezon City, Makati, Taguig, Pasig, Mandaluyong, Marikina, Paranaque, Valenzuela, Caloocan, Navotas, San Juan and Pasay
“The commercial launch of 5G underscores our commitment to bring the best digital technologies to our customers across the country,” said Alfredo Panlilio, president and chief executive of Smart and revenue officer of PLDT.
“As we continue to lead the way in 5G in the Philippines, we are now bringing Smart 5G’s super-fast data service to even more customers as we expand into Visayas and Mindanao and extend our Smart 5G service to our prepaid customers as well,” Panlilio said.
Smart’s high-speed broadband service serves 95 percent of the country’s population. Supporting Smart’s mobile network is PLDT’s fiber infrastructure, the most extensive in the country at 360,000 kilometers.