Thanks to brand new carrier aggregation tech
Boracay has long been a favorite place for Smart to test new technology before implementing said tech to their subscribers. The island paradise was the first place where Smart tested out 4G LTE, and it’s also where the telco showed off LTE-A last year. This year Boracay is serving as another jumping-off point for the company, as they along with their strategy and technology partner Huawei Technologies Philippines, have successfully activated 4-component carrier (4CC) aggregation in Boracay which has allowed them to reach average speeds of up to 280Mbps.
The speeds were recorded in Samsung’s newest flagships, the Galaxy S8 and S8+, which are the few phones currently in the market that support the technology.
Smart also reached maximum speeds of up to 400 to 500 Mbps via 4×4 Multiple Input, Multiple Output (MIMO) and 256 Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM) technology on a live and loaded network in Boracay, using the Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8+ and software that is available to users via a software update.
“This is just a preview of what can be achieved using the network that Smart is currently rolling-out and continuously improving throughout the country,” said Mario G. Tamayo, PLDT and Smart Senior Vice President for Network Planning and Engineering.
“Even for those who are using other LTE handsets, our network already delivers a better level of service,” Tamayo added.
Smart has not detailed when they plan to roll out the faster speeds to the general public.
