In case you didn’t know,
LTE-A is a new network technology that can deliver super-fast mobile internet speeds of up to 250 Mbps. It does this through what is known as MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) technology and carrier aggregation.
Without going into too much technical information, MIMO means, instead of just one antenna delivering one signal, multiple antennas deliver multiple signals from Smart’s transmission towers. More antennas = more efficient data transmission. Carrier aggregation means multiple 4G signals are combined to provide more bandwidth.
Impressive, right? However, we all know that when it comes to technology, spec sheet data are theoretical results from tests done in ideal conditions. It doesn’t mean they’re not real, don’t get us wrong. It’s just that the true test of any service or device is its real-world performance.
STREAMING
Yes, the new Smart LTE-A is fast. No scratch that: it’s blazing fast.
For our first real-world test, we decided to perform one of the most bandwidth-heavy things you can do online: video streaming. We’ve all been there — endless load times, choppy video streams, stuttering audio, buffering problems. Streaming videos is a frustrating affair that will test anyone’s patience. So imagine our surprise when we fired up iflix. Not only did the app load right away, videos started in an instant — and in glorious HD resolution, too! No percentage meter telling you how long you have to wait, no pixellation, nada. Zilch. Kaput. It felt like we were just changing channels on TV instead of streaming HD video.
View: https://phc.onl/#forbidden#/7foAV2pp_Q4
Here we switched to YøùTùbé. You can clearly see how fast everything loads in full 1080p resolution. Goodbye, dinky 240p videos!
View: https://phc.onl/#forbidden#/Ceb4JwBP3AM
DOWNLOADING
Impressed by our video streaming test, we decided to check how fast downloads are.
We picked Vain Glory, a 652 Mb mobile video game that one of our staff members have downloaded on his phone just a couple of days earlier, to see how long it’ll take compared to the time it previously took us. It might not be the most scientific of comparisons, but hey, we’re talking about real-world testing here.
View: https://phc.onl/#forbidden#/tbpQN4Beq6g
That’s right. Vain Glory only took 45 seconds to download! Just imagine how smooth your online gaming experience can be on LTE-A.
SPEED TEST
Yeah, yeah. We know some of you still won’t be satisfied without seeing some cold, hard numbers. So for our last real-world challenge, we gave Smart’s LTE-A some good ol’ fashioned speed testing.
View: https://phc.onl/#forbidden#/VwgmhFuClc4
The result at the start of the video (pause at the 0:10-second mark) was the highest download speed we got at 199.72 Mbps, and 13.67 Mbps for upload. The lowest download speed we got was around 77 Mbps (though we weren’t able to take a photo/video of it). One tech blogger got even higher results than us!
And this is a competing network’s Speedtest result taken in the same location at around the same time.
THE FINAL VERDICT
Smart’s LTE Advanced technology is the bee’s knees! We were absolutely floored by how fast it was.
The service is currently only available in Boracay, but fret not! Smart told us that they are already building the backend for LTE-A and the service should be rolled out in Manila and other key areas of the country in the next couple of months.
We can’t wait!
source:inquirer.net
by: AJTSantos
LTE-A is a new network technology that can deliver super-fast mobile internet speeds of up to 250 Mbps. It does this through what is known as MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) technology and carrier aggregation.
Without going into too much technical information, MIMO means, instead of just one antenna delivering one signal, multiple antennas deliver multiple signals from Smart’s transmission towers. More antennas = more efficient data transmission. Carrier aggregation means multiple 4G signals are combined to provide more bandwidth.
Impressive, right? However, we all know that when it comes to technology, spec sheet data are theoretical results from tests done in ideal conditions. It doesn’t mean they’re not real, don’t get us wrong. It’s just that the true test of any service or device is its real-world performance.
STREAMING
Yes, the new Smart LTE-A is fast. No scratch that: it’s blazing fast.
For our first real-world test, we decided to perform one of the most bandwidth-heavy things you can do online: video streaming. We’ve all been there — endless load times, choppy video streams, stuttering audio, buffering problems. Streaming videos is a frustrating affair that will test anyone’s patience. So imagine our surprise when we fired up iflix. Not only did the app load right away, videos started in an instant — and in glorious HD resolution, too! No percentage meter telling you how long you have to wait, no pixellation, nada. Zilch. Kaput. It felt like we were just changing channels on TV instead of streaming HD video.
View: https://phc.onl/#forbidden#/7foAV2pp_Q4
Here we switched to YøùTùbé. You can clearly see how fast everything loads in full 1080p resolution. Goodbye, dinky 240p videos!
View: https://phc.onl/#forbidden#/Ceb4JwBP3AM
DOWNLOADING
Impressed by our video streaming test, we decided to check how fast downloads are.
We picked Vain Glory, a 652 Mb mobile video game that one of our staff members have downloaded on his phone just a couple of days earlier, to see how long it’ll take compared to the time it previously took us. It might not be the most scientific of comparisons, but hey, we’re talking about real-world testing here.
View: https://phc.onl/#forbidden#/tbpQN4Beq6g
That’s right. Vain Glory only took 45 seconds to download! Just imagine how smooth your online gaming experience can be on LTE-A.
SPEED TEST
Yeah, yeah. We know some of you still won’t be satisfied without seeing some cold, hard numbers. So for our last real-world challenge, we gave Smart’s LTE-A some good ol’ fashioned speed testing.
View: https://phc.onl/#forbidden#/VwgmhFuClc4
The result at the start of the video (pause at the 0:10-second mark) was the highest download speed we got at 199.72 Mbps, and 13.67 Mbps for upload. The lowest download speed we got was around 77 Mbps (though we weren’t able to take a photo/video of it). One tech blogger got even higher results than us!
And this is a competing network’s Speedtest result taken in the same location at around the same time.
THE FINAL VERDICT
Smart’s LTE Advanced technology is the bee’s knees! We were absolutely floored by how fast it was.
The service is currently only available in Boracay, but fret not! Smart told us that they are already building the backend for LTE-A and the service should be rolled out in Manila and other key areas of the country in the next couple of months.
We can’t wait!
source:inquirer.net
by: AJTSantos