Smart Communications, Inc. is upgrading its cellular network coverage in the Light Rail Transit (LRT) Line 1 to improve the mobile experience of its 600,000 daily commuters.
To beef up its 2G, 3G, and 4G network coverage in LRT-1, the telco is deploying carrier-grade Wi-Fi in the 20 stations and platforms, inside the coaches and along the tracks.
Similar network improvements are underway for LRT2 and MRT3 to boost the quality of service available to Smart, TNT, and Sun subscribers.
“The LRT1 upgrade is part of our extensive network modernization to provide reliable voice, SMS, and mobile data, particularly LTE (Long Term Evolution) services to subscribers,” according to Joachim Horn, chief technology and integration advisor at PLDT and Smart.
Smart also enhanced its coverage inside the LRT1 depot in Pasay City, to serve Smart subscribers working for the Light Rail Manila Corp. (LRMC).
LTE speeds have since gone up to 25mbps outside the depot and 12mbps inside.
The network upgrade in LRT-1 comes as LRMC, partly owned by Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC), an affiliate of Smart, is also rehabilitating the oldest of the three elevated trains serving Metro Manila.
The rehabilitation includes the modernization of its 20 stations and the extension of the existing line from Roosevelt Avenue in Quezon City to Baclaran in Pasay City to Bacoor, Cavite.
Last year, Smart’s parent firm, PLDT, ramped up its capital expenditure program to $1 billion, with bulk of the budget going to Smart’s network rollout.
An additional $100 million went to the use of new frequencies freed up with the purchase of San Miguel Corporation’s telco assets.
Under PLDT’s three-year network roll-out plan, Smart said it will make LTE progressively available to users in 1,551 cities and municipalities across the country by end-2018 as data usage surge.
For Metro Manila, Smart is quadrupling its indoor LTE coverage and double its indoor 3G coverage by deploying new base station equipment in about 2,500 cell sites that use low frequency bands such as 700 MHz, 850 MHz, and 900 MHz for its LTE and 3G services.
These frequency bands cover a larger area and provide better indoor signals.
The rollout also includes deploying high-frequency bands like 1800 MHz and 2100 MHz, to boost the capacity of each Smart cell site to handle more calls, texts, and ever-increasing mobile data traffic.
Source: http://business.mb.com.ph/2017/02/05/smart-upgrades-lrt-1-cellular-wi-fi-services/