Close to a year after initial implementation, carrier-grade Smart Wi-Fi can now be found in major airports, transportation hubs, universities, hospitals, and entertainment hubs in the Philippines, allowing people to take their digital lifestyle to the next level.
The Smart WiFi rollout is part of the Telco’s expansion program, which goes in conjunction with the ongoing LTE rollout, which aims to enhance LTE coverage and increase the capacity of Smart’s cell towers nationwide, paving the way for accommodating more calls, text, and data-traffic.
With a backhaul capacity of up to 1Gbps, Smart Wi-Fi can support up to 3,000 concurrent users with robust connectivity.
Smart Wi-Fi now powers the four terminals of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, along with 17 other airports across the country. Travellers can use Wi-Fi to check hotels, flight information, and social media. They can also watch videos and listen to music online while waiting to board their planes.
The service is also available in seaports in Puerto Princesa, Batangas, Calapan in Mindoro, Cebu, Dumaguete, Dapitan, Zamboanga, Tagbilaran, Bacolod, as well as in gateways to premier island destinations such as Boracay, the Caticlan Jetty Port and Cagban Port.
Along with the celebration of the nation’s 119th Independence Day, Smart also launched its carrier-grade Wi-Fi service on the MRT and along EDSA to improve the mobile data experience of half a million commuters who traverse the country’s busiest highway.
Commuters waiting for the MRT can now stream music, watch videos, check their social media pages, and check email, among other tasks thanks to robust Wi-Fi connectivity. During its first week, download speeds ranging betwen 200 to 300Mbps were recorded from Taft Avenue station to North Edsa station.
Several entertainment and lifestyle hubs called SmartSpots have also been launched. These are high-traffic areas such as restaurants, bar clusters, and malls that are now powered by Smart Wi-Fi and Smart LTE.
Smart Wi-Fi also powers hospitals, government offices, city halls, provincial capitols, tourist spots, schools, and universities all over the country, making the digital lifestyle even more accessible to people from all walks of life.
Subscribers can use the service FREE and with no data cap for 30 minutes. They can also extend user sessions by purchasing load cards in denominations of PhP20 for 2 hours, valid for 2 days, and PhP50 for 10 hours valid for 5 days. Smart subscribers can top for as low as PhP10 for 30 minutes, valid for 1 day.
Emman has been writing technical and feature articles since 2010. Prior to this, he became one of the instructors at Asia Pacific College in 2008, and eventually landed a job as Business Analyst and Technical Writer at Integrated Open Source Solutions for almost 3 years.
