Smart Communications is set to switch on its first 5G cell site in the Philippines this month, November 2018.
This is in the Clark Freeport Zone in Pampanga which is being launched as the first Smart 5G City. It means the area will get 5G equipment installed together with the increased 4G LTE roll-out.
How fast is Smart’s 5G?
The minimum standard speed for a 5G network is 125 Megabytes per second, peak at around 2.5 Gigabytes per second and have a latency that’s not more than 1 millisecond.
Compare this with the average 4G LTE speed in the Philippines according to Ookla’s Speedtest in September 2018 which is 13.83 Megabytes per second. That means 5G is at least around 10 times faster!
So far, Smart’s 5G tests have achieved speeds of around 312 Megabytes per second.
Why choose Clark as 5G City?
The big reason for Smart in choosing Clark as its first 5G City is the Southeast Asian Games 2019 which will be held in the area. Many government offices will also be moving to Clark starting in 2021.
Smart is simply seeing the role that Clark will play in the future. It’s in the company’s best interests to play a role in it too.
Sources: Smart Newsroom, Speedtest by Ookla, Ericsson 5G
