PLDT’s wireless unit Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) has teamed up with telco operator StarHub to launch 5G roaming services in Singapore.
This move brings Smart 5G roaming services to ten (10) countries so far, following successful activations with leading operators in Japan with NTT Docomo, Australia with Vodafone; in China with China Mobile; in Bahrain, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia with Zain; full 5G roaming coverage in United Arab Emirates with Etisalat and du; in Taiwan with FarEasTone; and in South Korea with KT Corp.
StarHub is a leading homegrown company in Singapore that aims to deliver world-class communications, entertainment and digital solutions. Telco industry leaders StarHub and Smart are also members of the CONEXUS Mobile Alliance, which is composed of nine member-telcos in Asia that are at the forefront of delivering innovative, customer-friendly services to their respective customers who frequently travel on business.
CONEXUS is currently chaired by Katrina Luna-Abelarde, President and CEO at PLDT Global and head of International and Carrier Business. Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, Smart and CONEXUS have carried on laying down roaming service improvements for international travelers.
Smart prepaid and postpaid customers in Singapore can enjoy worry-free 5G data roaming speeds using their Smart 5G-capable SIM and 5G device. Customers can subscribe to Smart’s GigaRoam plans for as low as P999/5 days by simple visiting roam.smart.com.ph while they are abroad, or by downloading the GigaLife app. The app also helps customers manage their postpaid subscription or subscribe to prepaid promos.
“Our partnership with StarHub brings us one step closer to providing an unparalleled 5G roaming experience for Smart customers in Singapore,” said Alice Ramos, Vice President and Head of Roaming and Consumer Business at Smart. “This is consistent with Smart’s collective goal to bring world-class services to Filipinos," Ramos added.
5G leadership in the Philippines
As the Philippines’ first mobile network operator to roll out an extensive 5G roaming series of partnerships with industry leaders in key markets, Smart remains at the forefront of the 5G revolution back home. To date, more than 2,300 Smart 5G sites have been fired up at strategic locations nationwide including in all of Metro Manila's cities and municipalities, and in the provinces of Benguet, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, Pampanga, Rizal, Cebu, Iloilo, Aklan, Misamis Oriental, Zamboanga Sibugay, and Davao.
Supporting Smart's 5G network is PLDT's fiber infrastructure, which is the most extensive in the country at more than 429,000 kilometers as of December 2020.
