Smart expands, upgrades 3G network nationwide

Watching TV shows or following live traffic video updates on a mobile phone used to be just games only the techno-driven enjoyed. Not anymore. There’s a whole network of subscribers now availing themselves of the high-speed, data-rich services made possible with 3G technology – from as far north as Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte to General Santos City, South Cotabato in the south.

Just three months after it launched its free trial service, leading wireless services provider Smart Communications has extended the reach of its 3G network to over 50 percent of cities and municipalities nationwide. As of May 14, more than 100,000 subscribers in 144 cities and municipalities – including the 17 in Metro Manila – have been accessing a slew of mobile multimedia services, including video streaming or mobile TV.

And the number is growing as Smart ramps up network deployment nationwide.

In the last three months, the company has set up 3G radio base stations in 900 cell sites located in business centers, malls, schools, highways, hospitals, hotels, resorts, and airports as well as residential areas.

"Our engineers are working round the clock to ensure that more areas will be covered by Smart’s robust 3G network," says Rolando Peña, Network Services Division head.

"By extending our Smart 3G coverage to more and more areas, we are hoping to help stimulate take-up of this new service," he says.

Smart is the first mobile operator in the Philippines to publicly offer 3G services. It started opening its network on a free trial basis to its subscribers with 3G-capable handsets in selected key cities last Feb. 14. Subscribers have been enjoying full services since then. Last May 1, Smart unveiled its rates for the services.

Smart 3G service offerings

Conventional cellphones are used only for voice calls and text messaging, but with Smart 3G’video calling capability, the mobile phone doubles as a monitor where subscribers see the person they’re talking to.

For those with families, friends and colleagues outside the country, Smart’s video calling feature can help bridge the distance. With the largest network of 3G partners abroad, Smart subscribers can receive incoming international video calls from 26 operators in 16 countries, including Australia (Optus, Telstra, H3G), Austria (Mobilkom, Connect), Finland (Radiolindja), Germany (Vodafone, O2), Greece (Vodafone) Hong Kong (CSL, Sunday, Smartone*, Hutchison), Malaysia (Maxis), Italy (TIM, Vodafone), Japan (NTT DoCoMo), Norway (Telenor, Netcom), Poland (Polkomtel), Singapore (Starhub), South Korea (KT Freetel, SK Telecom), Spain (Amena), Switzerland (Swisscom*), and Taiwan (Chunghwa). Video calls from these countries are priced at a regular IDD call rate of US$0.40 per minute. With 3G, Smart has also transformed the handset into mobile television. Currently, Smart 3G makes available to its subscribers video content from the programs of television networks GMA 7 and ABS-CBN. Anywhere they are, at any time they prefer, subscribers can watch live television shows such as 24 Oras, Unang Hirit, S-Files, Majika, and Eat Bulaga from GMA Network, as well as ABS-CBN programs like Wowowee, The Buzz, Pinoy Big Brother, Panday, Rated K and TV Patrol. Apart from live TV broadcast, subscribers can also watch these shows on-demand through Smart 3G’s Mobile TV.

On top of these, Smart is offering new video streaming services such as real-time traffic monitoring of major thoroughfares. The company has started installing video cameras on "chokepoints" within Metro Manila to guide motorists.

Initially, the traffic monitoring service covers EDSA-McKinley in Makati; Kalayaan Avenue along C5; Session Road in Baguio City; Sta. Rosa in Laguna; General Aguinaldo in Cavite; Meycauayan, Bulacan along the North Luzon Expressway; and San Pedro, Muntinlupa along the South Luzon Expressway.

"Now that we are speeding up our 3G network rollout, more and more subscribers will be able to enjoy services under Smart 3G such as video calling, video streaming, high-speed Internet browsing and downloading of special 3G content as an added benefit to our wide array of existing GSM services," Peña says.

"This is an affirmation of our commitment to the public to establish the country’s first nationwide 3G coverage at the shortest possible time. We are doing for Smart 3G what we did first for our analog and then for our GSM network infrastructure," Smart president and CEO Napoleon Nazareno says.

3G, or the third generation of mobile communications networks, is an upgrade of the popular GSM (global system for mobile communications) technology. It runs on the WCDMA (wideband code division multiple access) platform and allows for faster data transmission speeds ranging from 114 kbps up to 384 Kbps.

This speed makes possible the transmission of more complex applications such as video conferencing, audio and video streaming, and high-speed mobile Internet – services not previously available on the GSM network.  

3G enhancement

Even as it rolls out its 3G network, Smart has also been testing new enhancements that will further boost the capacity of 3G. Last March 24, Smart successfully completed the first data test calls in the Philippines using an enhanced high-speed version of 3G cellular technology called High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA). HSDPA allows data calls with transfer rates at least three times faster than the 3G networks currently being deployed in the country.

HSDPA is a technology for improving the downlink performance of WCDMA networks and is part of the evolutionary path of 3G enhancements. The GSM Association explains that HSDPA boosts the air interface capacity of WCDMA networks by two times and delivers up to a five-fold increase in downlink data speeds or up to 1.6 Mbps with peaks of up to 1.8 Mbps. It shortens round-trip time between network and terminals and reduces variance in downlink transmission delay.  

With higher data speeds and greater system capacity, HSDPA opens the door to more and better media-rich mobile broadband multimedia services.

"With this 3G upgrade, we will be able to improve the customer experience of existing data services and offer new ones that would otherwise require longer data transfers," Nazareno says.

While the current 3G allows Web browsing and music and video downloads, HSDPA’s increased levels of throughput can unlock capacity for more bandwidth-hungry services such as full-motion video streaming, advanced multi-play games, and parallel voice-data-video services. It also enhances user experience of Web browsing and file downloads.   

Using a laptop and a 3G/3.5G (HSDPA) card, subscribers all over the country will soon enjoy HSDPA-powered services through PLDT WeRoam. Business users can look forward to high-speed Internet access and rapid download of e-mails with attachments as well as video teleconferencing and access to wireless audio and video services. Consumer services could include rapid downloading of high-resolution digital images, DVD-quality music downloads, full-motion video and advanced multi-player games.