Smart Communications Inc. has upgraded all its sites in Visayas region with Long Term Evolution (LTE), thus increasing capacity and improving speeds on its wireless data network.
The activation of LTE in farflung coastal community Kawayan, a fifth-class municipality in island province Biliran, Eastern Visayas, brings to nearly 1,500 the number of sites in the region now operating on LTE, Smart said.
The company added this forms part of the scaled-up expansion of its LTE-powered network across the Philippines.
Smart reported it has expanded LTE capacity in the Visayas by 31 percent compared to end-2019.
LTE is available in the region’s major cities of Cebu, Iloilo and Bohol; in Tacloban and Ormoc in Leyte; the Eastern Samar capital city of Borongan; Northern Samar capital of Catarman City; and Western cities of Catbalogan and Calbayog.
Smart said it had increased the number of LTE base stations by 15 percent to 28,200 nationwide as of end-August, to provide reliable mobile connectivity and address the increasing demand of customers due to the coronavirus pandemic as most employees and students are at home.
