Smart Communications, a subsidiary of PLDT wireless has fired up Long Term Evolution (LTE) in Batanes (Philippines), bringing a much improved mobile data experience to tourists and residents in the Philippines’ northernmost province. Smart Communications has deployed Ericsson’s MINI-LINK long haul product to boost its LTE coverage in the country’s northernmost province of Batanes.
Batanes, home to over 17,000 Filipinos, receives around 4,000 tourists a month and is included in the UNESCO Tentative List for Inscription in the World Heritage List. Made up of 29 barangays in six municipalities, the province is a mini-archipelago of 10 islands, including the main island Batan, the largest island Itbayat, and Sabtang island.
Covering Batanes with LTE was a major challenge. To connect this province, Smart Communications had to use multiple microwave hops, including the longest single microwave hop in the country at 128 kilometers. This gigabit microwave hop is set up using Ericsson’s commercially available MINI-LINK LH and boosts Smart’s LTE coverage in the Philippines, even in remote areas like the Batanes group of islands. At a hop length of 128 kilometers, this is the longest 1.6 Gbps inter-island packet microwave hop deployed by Ericsson globally.
MINI-LINK LH, Ericsson’s long-haul product in the MINI-LINK family, contains an integrated high capacity Ethernet switch and provides Native Ethernet and TDM supporting the evolution to all-IP. Ericsson’s trunk radio systems provide best in class spectrum efficiency and make the most out of available frequency spectrum. For more information, click here.
