Smart Communications Inc. said over the weekend it teamed up with Zain, a leading mobile voice and data services operator in the Middle Easts to further expand its 5G roaming services in the region.
Under the partnership, Smart prepaid and postpaid customers overseas will be able to access worry-free 5G roaming speeds while in Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. The Middle East has the second largest population of overseas Filipinos, next to North America. This makes Smart the first Philippine operator to have the widest roaming coverage in the territory.
“Smart’s 5G roaming service allows a Smart subscriber to enjoy worry-free 5G service even while abroad through Smart’s 5G roaming partners. This is part of our commitment to deliver the best experience to our customers,” said Alice Ramos, vice president for international roaming and consumer business at Smart.
“Customers with 5G-ready SIMs and 5G-capable handsets can enjoy 5G roaming speeds for better video experience, and seamless data connectivity for the productivity or social platforms that they need to access when they visit other countries for work or vacation,” she said.
Like Smart, Zain KSA was recognized by Ookla, the global leader in internet testing and analysis, as the telco with the “fastest fixed network speed in the Kingdom.”
Other 5G roaming partners of Smart are UAE’s Etisalat and du; Taiwan’s FarEasTone; and South Korea’s KT Corp.
Meanwhile, Globe Telecom Inc. said it completed the activation of Voice over LTE in the National Capital Region, Rizal, Cavite and Bulacan.
VoLTE is the standard high-speed wireless communication for mobile phones using 4G LTE instead of the traditional voice networks being used by 2G and 3G.
“VoLTE is the better solution for customers who need voice connectivity indoors as this technology is superior to 2G/3G,” said Globe chief commercial officer Issa Guevarra-Cabreira.
“By using this innovative technology, Globe Postpaid customers get better connectivity, clearer connection, faster and uninterrupted browsing even when they are inside their rooms, confined places in their homes or even in the office. VoLTE delivers a much better overall experience,” she said.
Cabreira said VoLTE has many advantages over the old voice services of 2G and 3G networks when it comes to voice capacity compared to 2G and 3G.
With VoLTE, Globe can also accommodate more customers making calls at the same time without slowing call set-up, compromising voice quality and dropping those important calls during emergency situations.
VoLTE also gives users the ability to simultaneously connect to the Internet while on a call. This advantage comes in handy when playing online games or streaming videos.