SMART Evolution LTE open for beta testing: Fastest 4G network in the Philippines goes online

This is hot off the digital presses – in fact it’s so hot you’ll need flame resistant gloves to handle.

We just got the word that SMART’s LTE network – SMART Evolution – is now open for beta testing by a select group of power users who will be willing to try out the setup and give the operator their impressions.

Potential speed demon guinea pigs can check out the best test sign up form here: http://www1.smart.com.ph/bro/lte/sign-up

How fast is this baby? Judging from the initial roll out in Boracay held Holy Week 2011, expect speeds of up to 42 Mbps in areas covered by the LTE rollout.

Lucky beta testers will be given an LTE modem (which plugs into a USB port) to try out the network on bandwidth intensive applications such as High Def video streaming and downloads. It’s a taste of the ultra-fast bandwidth found in other countries – and this is now in the PH.

Actual details for the beta test are yet to be revealed. But if I were you, I’d sign up for the program first and ask questions later.

LTE is here: “SMART Evolution” – SMART’s LTE Network to demo LIVE this Holy Week in Boracay

Well the cat is out of the bag and the embargo has been lifted, hallelujah! We are ready to report on the roll out of the first LTE mobile broadband network in the Philippines, straight from the proverbial horse’s mouth. The stakes in the mobile internet race in the Philippines have just cranked up a notch.

According to our sources, SMART will be doing the first public demos of its mobile LTE network as early as Holy Week with a live public demonstration in Boracay. This is, as far as we know, the first LIVE LTE network in the country. LTE has finally arrived in the mobile broadband space.

The network, which will be known as SMART Evolution, will be using LTE to pump out mobile broadband at speeds of up to 50 Megabits Per Second. (actually, the theoretical maximum is 100 Mbps, assuming that the service will get there sometime in the future).

The live demo will be set up in Boracay from April 21 to 24. SMART will be setting up demo booths where people on the beach can try out LTE for themselves, on laptops especially equipped with LTE modems for the demo.

What the heck is LTE anyway and what does it mean for internet users? LTE – Long Term Evolution – represents the next step in the mobile internet evolutionary ladder after the 3G (and 3.5G) HSPA speeds supported by the current crop of smartphones and broadband modems, which are capable of supporting rates of as much as 7.2 Mbps.

LTE is supported by the next generation of smartphones such as the HTC Thunderbolt (offered in the US through Verizon). Access to the SMART Evolution network will be offered through USB modems accessed via laptops and other LTE devices (such as LTE smartphones) as soon as these are available.

What can you do with LTE’s 50 Mbps speed? Are you kidding? This can mean downloading a movie in a few minutes instead of an hour, downloading a podcast in seconds, or watching 1080p HD streaming video without buffering.

That’s SMART Evolution. We have a strong feeling Charles Darwin would approve.

It’s a bird! it’s a plane! Hell no, it’s Super 3G!

Picked up on our radar via Engadget is this little news item from NTT DoCoMo, the same folks that brought us i-Mode. If you’re one of those speed demons who always believed that 3G squeaked by a little too slowly at a piddling 384 Kbps, and even HSDPA’s maximum downlink of 14 Mbps still represents life in the slow lane, then boy, have we got news for you.

NTT has just successfully completed outdoor tests of “Super 3G”. Though aiming for a maximum downlink of 300 Mbps, the tests achieved a whopping 250 Mbps. Not quite the target, but still very close, in our opinion. It’s impressive enough of an achievement so we’d say that they win the virtual cigar for this round. Here’s the official news release on the matter.

Why the “Super 3G” monicker, not “4G”? Turns out that this is the last hurrah for the 3G spectrum, after which we enter the brave new world of the 4G spectrum — which we believe will then require expensive new licenses, generating a windfall for the FCCs and NTCs of the world. Super 3G and 4G themselves are considered part of the GSM Long Term Evolution protocol, commonly known as LTE.

This little chart from NTT describes the 3G roadmap in a neat package:

Will Filipinos ever experience these breathtaking wireless broadband speeds? This could be something we might be seeing from the PLDT/SMART group in a few years. In a recent statement, PLDT and Smart prez (he wears two hats, y’see) Napoleon Nazareno noted a preference for LTE over the likes of say, WiMAX. See this link for that news item.

The fact that NTT just happens to owns a chunk of PLDT makes the stated preference for LTE quite logical. It looks like Super 3G will be an option in our menu of broadband alternatives in a few years. 300 Mbps here we come, yee-hah!