“This aggressive expansion of our Long Term Evolution (LTE) network is part of our thrust to provide broadband connectivity to the whole country,” said PLDT President & CEO Napoleon L. Nazareno. “It complements our efforts to provide connectivity to all Filipino homes through fixed lined services like our fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) and the Next Generation Network (NGN) services.”

PLDT's wireless subsidiary Smart Communications launched its mobile LTE service in 2012.  In April this year, PLDT deployed the fixed wireless version of LTE, the first in the country, to provide high-speed wireless broadband services to homes via its service PLDT HOME Bro Ultera that provides speed of up to 10 Mbps. Nearly 2,000 LTE base stations has so far been deployed.

Originally offered in Metro Manila, PLDT HOME Bro Ultera has since been brought to provincial areas from as far as Cagayan province in Northern Luzon and Davao del Sur in Mindanao.

“This new service revolutionizes the country’s internet experience as it enables more Filipino families to gain  ready access to multimedia services like social media, movies, games, and music,” PLDT EVP and HOME Business Group Head Ariel P. Fermin said. 

"The take up of our PLDT HOME Bro Ultera service has been phenomenal," Fermin pointed out. This LTE to the Home service utilizes Time Division-LTE (TD-LTE), one of the two wireless data transmission technologies that fall under the international standard of LTE.

"The ultra-fast TD-LTE has maximum speeds per individual user of up to 42 Mbps which is almost six times faster than WiMax and 21 times more than Canopy. It can serve more customers and provide a better internet experience than both,” PLDT Technology Group Head Rolando Peña said.

The deployment of more LTE base stations will also enable Smart to expand its high-speed mobile broadband service.

This latest expansion is part of the PLDT Group’s P32 billion capital expenditures for the year which also includes the ongoing expansion of its extensive fiber optic network, now reaching 85,000 kilometers, five times more than its competition.

The continuing expansion of its fiber optic cable network has enabled the PLDT Group to reach more areas of the country with broadband services through both fixed and mobile technologies.