24 October 2012 - Wireless services leader Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) has scored another first in the Long Term Evolution (LTE) arena with the setting up of an LTE roaming interconnect link with Singapore telco StarHub. 

Interconnect links provide the infrastructure needed to connect subscribers of one operator to the network of another operator, a crucial first step toward commercial roaming.

“After being the first and only telco to commercially launch a multiband LTE offering in the Philippines, Smart solidifies its dominance in the LTE space by being the first Philippine telco to set up an interconnect link with a foreign operator,” said Smart Executive Vice President and Head of Wireless Consumer Division Emmanuel Lorenzana.

“We are pleased to work with Smart, our Conexus Mobile Alliance roaming partner in the Philippines,  to set up an LTE roaming interconnect infrastructure between Singapore and the Philippines,” said Chan Kin Hung, Head of Marketing & Products, StarHub. “We look forward to begin offering commercial LTE roaming service in the Philippines to StarHub customers soon.”

StarHub is a fully integrated info-communications company in Singapore with an LTE network providing connection speeds of up to 75 Mbps. 

For its part, Smart is offering dongle-bundled LTE plans that currently allow unlimited Internet surfing at blazing speeds. Smart also recently introduced the Smart LTE Pocket WiFi, which allows people to enjoy LTE speeds on any Wi-Fi-enabled device. 

Currently the fastest fourth-generation (4G) wireless connection in the world, LTE is capable of speeds as fast as 100 Mbps, making it ideal for high-speed broadband applications. It allows users to stream high-definition (HD) videos faster, download HD movies in minutes, and play lag-free online games.

Smart is already in talks with other industry giants in Asia regarding LTE roaming partnerships, which will allow Smart subscribers to surf the Internet at blazing speeds abroad. 

Discussions are currently ongoing between Smart and Japan’s NTT Docomo, Hong Kong’s Hutchison Telecommunications, and South Korea’s KT Corp. 

“Our links with StarHub are being set up as we speak, but we continue to pursue interconnect links with other leading telcos under the Conexus Mobile Alliance. We are working hard to turn this into a commercial service soon,” said Tina Mariano, Group Head of Smart’s Global Access and International Services.

Smart, NTT Docomo, Hutchison, KT, and StarHub are all members of Conexus, one of Asia’s biggest mobile alliances which seeks to develop and enhance international roaming and corporate mobile services for the benefit of the member-companies’ customers. The Conexus alliance has a combined customer base of more than 330 million mobile subscribers, 50.9 million of whom are Smart subscribers. 

“All our LTE roaming efforts are centered on providing our subscribers with all the tools they need to live more. Our promise to enable our customers to ‘Live More’ extends beyond Philippine borders,” Lorenzana said.