Will this mean better internet for everybody soon?

Last week we saw San Miguel basically give up on their telco ambitions, letting go of the highly lucrative 700MHz band for 1 billion dollars to both Smart and Globe. Both telcos are now readying their networks to integrate the frequency, and Smart has given us a short outline on how exactly the acquisition will benefit subscribers.

Essentially, Smart will be integrating the new band into existing ones. One of the biggest reasons why both telcos were clamoring for the frequency is the fact that the 700MHz band penetrates deeper into buildings and covers a wider area than traditional networks. Combined with other bands that they currently use, this means overall better service for data, especially on LTE.

The other leg of their 700MHz plan are new devices that can fully utilize the band. 700MHz capable devices are a pain to source, according to some manufacturers, though more devices being released by global brands are now capable of utilizing the band.

It’s still early days since the acquisition of the band from San Miguel. PLDT Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan earlier stated that we should see improvements in the network in 6 months – we’ll hold him to that promise.