Smart readies nationwide 3G rollout

Smart Communications Inc. has started to rapidly deploy its third-generation (3G) mobile network nationwide after the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) awarded it and three other telecoms companies 3G frequencies.

Smart, according to its president and chief executive officer Napoleon Nazareno, has been testing a number of 3G cell sites and "can now service customers on a trial basis in Metro Manila and Metro Cebu."

Nazareno said Smart has already ordered the network facilities needed to establish nationwide 3G coverage "at the shortest possible time."

Smart topped the 3G license applicants, garnering a perfect score of 30, based on the NTC’s 30-point grading system gauging the capability of telecom operators to massively and effectively provide 3G services.

Thus, Smart was given the largest radio frequency allocation – 15 MHz compared to 10 MHz for the other operators.

"We will fully utilize these 3G frequencies to provide the best quality service to our customers," Nazareno said.

3G technology — the next generation of mobile communications networks running on the WCDMA (wireless code division multiple access) platform — allows faster data transmission speeds from 114 kbps up to two Mbps, making possible high-speed data communications and mobile multimedia services such as video conferencing, audio streaming and mobile Internet.

Last November, Smart demonstrated its readiness to offer a full range of 3G services in a live demo at an international conference in Cebu.

Witnessed by members of the press, this was conducted in conjunction with the annual conference of the Inter-working Roaming Expert Group (iREG) of the GSM Association.

During the demo, Smart not only showcased a live video conference call on a Smart-to-Smart network, but also completed an international roaming call between Smart and Telecom Italia Mobile. 

Also, it sampled breakthrough services such as broadcast streaming and simultaneous voice and messaging.

"The success of these latest 3G tests reinforces Smart’s leadership position to efficiently support real applications in a 3G network," Nazareno said.

He added that apart from preparations covering hardware and equipment, the company is also putting in place necessary support systems such as billing and applications.

Smart officials said the company started preparations for a seamless transition to 3G as early as five years ago.

In December 2000, Smart, in cooperation with Nokia Networks, conducted the first successful 3G video call in the country in the presence of NTC officials.

Using experimental equipment, this test call recorded data transfer rates of up to 216.9 kbps.

In 2000 as well, Smart started installing new GSM (global system for mobile communications) base station equipment that not only substantially increased the capacity of its digital mobile phone network, but also made it easier to install a 3G system in the future.