MANILA, Philippines - As the saying goes, seeing is believing. Last week, Boracay vacationers became the first converts to 4G, or the fourth-generation mobile phone technology.
Wireless leader Smart Communications picked the country’s top summer hot spot to fire up its Long Term Evolution (LTE) network, introducing 4G in the Philippines.
LTE is the latest stage in the development of mobile broadband technology. To Internet aficionados, this means higher speeds. While the current 3G and HSPA technologies can reach anywhere from 2 to 3 Mbps, LTE promises breakneck speeds and better Internet experience.
Boracay vacationers who tried LTE found it to be capable of download and upload speeds of up to 50 Mbps. In the future, data speeds will be raised to the seemingly unbelievable 100 Mbps. To the average Internet user, these may be just numbers and acronyms, but these symbols mean one can download movies in minutes, songs in seconds, and view high-definition videos with just one click.
A 4G-powered vacation
Among the first to experience Smart LTE were Shien Abdallah and Andrey Balida of Bacolod City. Like most youngsters today, they brought — along with swimwear, shades, and sun block — cameras, mobile phones, and laptops to record the occasion for sharing with family and friends back home. This being peak season, however, not only the beachfront was crowded but also cyberspace, with people simultaneously accessing the Net through their laptops or mobile phones.
Shien tried LTE-quality Internet in one of Smart’s laptops powered by an LTE USB dongle set up in a demo booth.
“I was really impressed!” she exclaimed. “Everything was fast, as promised. It’s my first time to experience watching videos online where I didn’t have to pause and wait.”
Andrey added: “With Internet this fast, there’ll be more time to enjoy the scenery and friends’ company – and, of course, upload photos and videos.”
Fastest way to beat deadlines
For those on a working holiday, Smart’s LTE also means efficiency and flexibility. Mark Dy, who works for a publishing company in Manila, said that with LTE, Boracay or any other city or town can be his office.
“It’s just like I’m using our fast and stable office network right here, while on vacation,” he remarked, after uploading a large file through a file-sharing site.
“This spares you the stress of sending and receiving large office files through a wobbly and intermittent Internet access. Little things like miscommunication and unsent materials can lead to big problems,” he added.
Living the LTE life in Boracay
Despite the many people simultaneously trying it out, Smart’s LTE in Boracay delivered, and even exceeded its promised speed of 50 Mbps during several speed tests – sometimes even recording speeds beyond 70 Mbps.
The showcase had the beach crowd watching a live stream of an NBA game on the big screen, live Boracay video streams positioned by Smart in several areas of the beach and continuous loop of YouTube clips like music videos and movie trailers.
Some people even did a test download of huge files like one-hour TV series episodes and full-length movies, all within their allotted time. Others, meanwhile, took Smart LTE for a test-run on games whether downloaded or played online.
Still, the majority of the Boracay crowd was on social networking sites, snapping photos and videos via webcams and sticking SD cards in the laptops, sharing memories with the world at the speed of LTE.
What happened in Boracay, however, never stayed in Boracay. Soon, Smart’s LTE will reach more areas in the country and make of even more Filipinos believers in the world’s fastest mobile broadband technology.