As global travel restrictions ease, Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) has expanded its 5G roaming coverage for tourists through its alliance with 84 roaming partners in 51 countries to date.
Since last year, Smart has doubled its efforts to serve the 5G roaming needs of inbound and outbound customers in Estonia, Slovakia, the Netherlands, Iceland, Latvia, France, Vietnam, Qatar, Greece, Finland, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Canada, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Germany, Guam, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway, Oman, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, and the United States of America.
“This is part of our commitment to provide the best mobile experience to global customers visiting the country, allowing us to help position the Philippines as the preferred destination for business and tourism in the region," explained Chet Alviz, Smart's Vice President Wireless Core and International Business Group.
"Our partnerships with international mobile operators in key markets empower our customers and help them pursue their passions as we usher in the next normal,” he added.
To support the constant growth of mobile data traffic, Smart increased its total base stations to 76,600 nationwide as of end-March 2022.
The number includes around 7,300 5G base stations supported by a fiber infrastructure network spanning 803,000 kilometers.
The rest of its base stations provide 3G and 4G/Long Term Evolution (LTE) services to customers across the country.
The accelerated deployment of LTE, 5G and fiber across the country is part of the telco's initiative to deliver world-class experience to customers nationwide.
For its efforts in improving its network, Smart also recently won back-to-back Ookla awards as the Philippines’ Fastest 5G Mobile Network and for delivering the country’s Best Mobile Video Experience across all mobile technologies.
Smart also won the most number of citations in the latest Mobile Experience Awards by Opensignal, as the Philippines’ fastest mobile network with the widest 5G reach and best 4G coverage experience, among other citations.