PLDT’s wireless unit Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) activates its Smart 5G roaming services for customers in Canada, through its partnership with world-leading communications and information technology company Telus.
Smart is the Philippines’ first mobile network operator to have the most extensive, active 5G roaming service with telco leaders in key markets. Live in 21 countries with 30 partners, Smart’s partnership with Telus follows its rollout with AT&T in the United States; TrueMove and AIS in Thailand; Sunrise in Switzerland; TDC in Denmark; Meteor in Ireland; SmarTone and HKT in Hong Kong; Pelephone in Israel; Turkcell in Turkey; Zain, Ooredoo and STC in Kuwait; StarHub in Singapore; NTT Docomo in Japan; Vodafone in Australia; Zain in Bahrain; Zain and Mobily in Saudi Arabia; Vodaphone in Qatar; China Mobile and China Unicom in China; Viettel in Vietnam; Etisalat and du in the United Arab Emirates; Chungwa, FarEasTone and T-Star in Taiwan; and KT Corp in South Korea.
Smart prepaid and postpaid customers who are roaming in Canada can enjoy worry-free 5G roaming speeds using their Smart 5G SIM and 5G-capable device with Smart’s special GigaRoam plans for as low as P999. For customers overseas, they can visit roam.smart.com.ph or download the GigaLife App to discover and subscribe to available roaming plans in Canada.
“Sustaining our commitment to improve customer experience, we continue to team up with global telco leaders in key markets in order to bring our live, world-class 5G roaming services to Filipinos overseas.” said Alice Ramos, Vice President and Head of Roaming and Consumer Business at Smart. “With access to carefully crafted roaming data plans, our customers are empowered to pursue their passions wherever they are in the world.”
5G leader in PH
Smart remains at the forefront of the 5G revolution in the Philippines. As of May 2021, Smart has fired up more than 3,000 5G sites across the country, solidifying its hold as the Philippines’ fastest and widest 5G network.
These developments come at the heels of Smart’s recent award for having the fastest 5G network in the Philippines by Ookla®, the global leader in internet testing and analysis.
Based on consumer-initiated tests taken using Speedtest® by Ookla, Smart has consistently posted the fastest 5G speeds for Q1 2021, with median download speeds of 190 Mbps – more than double the competition’s speeds for the same period.
Smart 5G complements Smart’s continuous expansion of its 4G/LTE network, which has also been recognized as the fastest mobile network in the country by third-party analytics firms including Ookla, Opensignal, and umlaut. Currently, Smart’s mobile networks serve 96% of the Philippine population from Batanes to Tawi-Tawi.
Enabling Smart’s mobile networks is PLDT’s fiber infrastructure, the country’s most extensive at over 478,000 kilometers as of end-March 2021.