PLDT’s wireless subsidiary Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) is beefing up its network capacity, particularly for 5G, in cities and urban areas to support growing 5G adoption and enhance customer experience on 5G.

Among those now using 5G in their day-to-day life is Wendy Nadela, 25, from Cagayan de Oro. “I use Smart 5G, especially while on-the-go,” said Nadela, who works as a QA Engineer for Wela School Systems. “I find the service fast, easy to access and affordable.”

Nadela added that 5G has improved her connectivity, especially in terms of speed. “It has improved a lot, enhancing my browsing and gaming experience. This has also helped me connect to my online meetings, join urgent company calls and organize my work tasks.”

As of end-June 2022, Smart has rolled out around 77,100 total base stations nationwide, supporting its 3G, 4G/LTE and 5G customers. This includes 7,300 5G base stations. Compared to a year ago, Smart has rolled out 2,500 additional 5G base stations across the country.

Bulk of the new additional 5G base stations Smart rolled out in the first half of the year alone were deployed in the Metro Manila cities of Las Piñas, Makati, Mandaluyong, Manila, Muntinlupa, Parañaque, Pasay, Quezon City and Taguig; Tarlac City; Silang in Cavite; Cabuyao, Lumban and Santa Rosa in Laguna;

Iloilo City and Dumangas in Iloilo; the cities of Bacolod and Sagay in Negros Occidental; the cities of Cebu, Lapu-Lapu, and Mandaue in Cebu; Baybay, Ormoc and Palo in Leyte;

The cities of Pagadian and Zamboanga in Zamboanga del Sur; Cagayan de Oro City; Butuan City in Agusan del Norte; and the cities of Digos and Davao in Davao del Sur.

According to the latest Ericsson Mobility Report, 5G mobile subscriptions will surpass 1 billion in 2022. In South East Asia and Oceania, where the Philippines belongs, 5G subscriptions were around 15 million at the end of 2021 and are expected to more than double in 2022, the Ericsson report also said.

“We encourage our subscribers to experience 5G, like Ms. Nadela who has shifted and is very happy with our 5G service. PLDT and Smart continue to invest in expanding our 5G network to make it more accessible, boosting the country’s digital transformation,” said PLDT Head of Technology Mario G. Tamayo.

This continued expansion puts Smart’s 3G, 4G/LTE and 5G population coverage at 97% as of end-June.

Bolstering PLDT’s commitment to support the country’s digital transformation is the Company’s sustained investments in its network. Network-related initiatives made up the bulk of the ₱89 billion spend for 2021. This brings PLDT’s total capex spent over the last 10 years to ₱518.5 billion.  Capex guidance for 2022 is at ₱85 billion.

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