Smart to provide near-seamless GSM coverage while at sea

Cellular phone firm Smart Communications Inc. will soon provide for an almost seamless GSM (global system for mobile communications) coverage even while at sea, officials said.

Under a memorandum of agreement signed with Negros Navigation Co. (Nenaco) recently, Smart said it will be installing GSM indoor antennas inside Nenaco’s passenger vessels to improve cellular coverage on-board.

"This is a first in the Philippines. We’re very happy that we’re able to provide service to our subscribers through innovative engineering solutions," said Napoleon Nazareno, Smart president and CEO.

Installing GSM equipment inside shipping vessels is an engineering challenge because of the ship’s steel hulls. Nevertheless, Smart engineers came up with a solution by putting up several indoor antennas in various parts of the ship.

"It also helps that Smart has the most extensive coverage along the major sea routes, being present in most of the country’s islands," said Rolando Pena, Smart’s head of Network Services Division. "Coverage inside the ship, provided by indoor antennas, will be supported by these cellsites along the sea route," he added.

Once fully set up in all of Nenaco passenger ships, Smart users will be able to enjoy improved connectivity. A sea voyage of 19 hours (from Manila to Bacolod), for instance, will reduce the previous eight hours of no network coverage to just one or two hours.

The publicly-listed Nenaco, one of the country’s largest inter-island shipping companies, is a subsidiary of Metro Pacific Corp., the local arm of Hong Kong’s First Pacific Co. Ltd.

Smart, on the other hand, is a subsidiary of Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) where Metro Pacific holds a 24 percent stake.