Smart Communications’ first ever prepaid LTE service in the country has gone live yesterday, just around a year after they officially unveiled their commercial LTE mobile data service to postpaid subscribers in our country. Check out all the details that you need to know after the jump.
Smart has been generous in providing affordable mobile internet lately as they announced the availability of Opera Unlisurf15 which lets internet junkies to surf all day for as low as Php15 provided that they will only use the Opera Mini app as the browser. Now, they have something for the big boys as well.
For starters, LTE (Long Term Evolution) is the next step ahead of 3G as it enables mobile internet download speeds of up to 100MBps. However, Smart’s LTE service is limited to 42MBps for the meantime. With that kind of speed, Smart said that you’ll be able to “download movies in minutes, full album in seconds, and real-time gaming no lag”.
4G LTE connectivity has been the latest trend in the mobile internet devices as well as the smartphone and tablet scene. With the ridiculous speed, there’s no more reason not to enjoy the world wide web as it’ll not let you wait anymore with those lazy loading times and endless buffering. You’ll enjoy watching YouTube videos or streaming your favorite show without the need to worry about a sluggish connection.
Related: How to Register to SMART Promos: All Net Text, Call & Text Combo, Tri-Net, and Unli Call & Text
Fast internet connectivity has always been a pain in some areas and I hope that this development would also include the wide expansion of high-speed internet in provinces. It’s a good thing that the important cities are getting a better connection, but they should still increase the speed of those in other regions. Smart’s expansion has been improving ever since, now covering 46 cities and 69 municipalities nationwide. You can check out the full list of the coverage here.
[two_fifth]SMART’s LTE network runs on 2100MHz, 1800MHz, and 850MHz[/two_fifth]
But before jumping to the LTE bandwagon, please note that it will only work on LTE capable devices. Meaning, giving your android phone the Smart SIM won’t give it LTE powers and outrageous internet speed. However, if you want to feel the might of LTE, SMART is also offering a Pocket Wi-Fi device and Plug-it contract free and you can avail them for Php6,995 and Php5,995, respectively. Since that includes a new LTE sim, that means you’ll also get the same 7 days free internet along with the chosen device. And oh, Smart also said that the first batch of LTE sims doesn’t have a voice call feature so you might want to keep your old sim card handy to take care of your voice calls. The sim comes with SMS features though so you can register to their LTE promos.
For as low as Php350, people will now be able to experience 4G LTE by buying an LTE-enabled Smart SIM (Nano and dual-cut sizes) which comes preloaded with 7 days unlimited mobile internet for free. Once the included plan expires, you can avail of the following promos. They are really good enough considering the lowest Smart LTE plan is at 1299 with a bandwidth cap of 5GB.
How to Register/Subscribe on SMART LTE Prepaid
SMART’s unlimited LTE will be applicable until June 30, 2013 and after that Smart will announce the new prices and/or bandwidth cap if there are any. For more information on SMART’s LTE plans, check out their official website here.
Have you tried SMART’s LTE service? What can you say about it? Share it in the comments section below!
is there a drawback for the prepaid LTE like maximum GB per day… Is it covered by the Fair Usage Policy?
i’m not an expert, just a curious reader like most of you. but these are what i’ve found out about smart prepaid lte…
1) in their website, they announced to be operating on bands 1-2100 mhz, 3-1800 mhz and 3-850 mhz.
2) only the band 1-2100 mhz is being detected or tested to have been working on compatible devices with the same said band. ex. xperia z c6603, xperia zl c6503, xperia sp c5303, galaxy s4 lte intl version, iphone 5 lte.
3) i’m so excited to test my htc one 801s lte on smart prepaid lte but to my frustrations, it’s not working on smart’s lte band 1 as it only has band 3-1800 mhz (but if you search on smart’s press releases, they are operating on band 3 1800 mhz as well) siguro hindi pa lang nila binubuksan or… hindi sya avaulable on prepaid lte, sa postpaid lang. if meron gumamagamit ng postpaid lte let us know please.
4) using smart prepaid lte on a non compatible lte device will only produce hspa+ or H+ signal at the most. however i’ve read somewhere na LTE signal appered on a non lte device as long as smart lte prepaid ang ginamit mo. i have yet to try it.
5) P100 na lang yung smart lte prepaid microsim and nanosim sa smart with free P50 load. tapos na po ang 7 day free internet. mas okay na tong P100 diba?
agree, had also the same problem. got my htc one, not working on an lte postpaid
same prob too with my LG Optimus G F180k version.
my LTE freqs are 800 and 1800mhz. nasa SM North Cyberzone ako yesterday, wala signal yung smart LTE ko. pag nagsesearch ako, nadedetect ng phone ko yung sa Globe LTE (which is 1800)
went to SMART Service Center, tried a huawei device using my LTE sim. gumana naman.
Kahit isa sa Smart walang makasagot kung “up and running na yung 1800mhz nila”. maybe 2100mhz lang gumagana till now.
update: htc one lte works on globe prepaid lte
NON LTE phone works with lte smart?? i think mali po ung cnsabi mo.. non lte nga.. it means no lte radio on that phone.. maybe it is on The SOFTWARE or ROM that display 4g lte.. like my device.. s3 sgh t999.. the signal is 4g lte.. but when i go to status about phone.. connected it says that HSPA+
do you understand my post? non lte phone will only produce hspa+ and you actually repeeted it. lol
What website ko pede subcribe ng LTE kc naka ipad mini ko wala tong txt, di ko sya maregister for LTE
try mo insert yung sim mo sa ibang device (phone) magregister ka muna then pag registered na, balik mo na yung sim sa iPad mini mo. :)
another stupid post :( just like what I found on the useless smart telecom website. I’m here to look for if LTE sim can text and call any other sim and landline, I’m here to see if my device are compatible on the LTE coverage of smart telecom (ie, 850, 1600, 2100) and a lot more technical info.. Fail post. :(
Eh di mag-post ka ng sa’yo!!! Sa katamaran mong mag-isip inaasa mo na lang sa google.
LTE sims cannot call or send txt (SMS). LTE are pure data connections only. If you want to call/txt use VOIP/ viber/wechat etc.
Can I just plug the LTE sim into a pocket wifi like the ones sold in CDR king or into a smart plug in usb?
The pocket wifi device also has to support LTE
How does Smart LTE Pocket Wifi works?
-does it have to connect to a pc or laptop to work or it has a battery on its own and will be charged accordingly?
The LTE Pocket Wifi has a built in rechargeable battery :)
Can you operate it plugged day and night? So, I’m planning to only utilize the battery when I’m out of the house.
Masisira battery mo
uhm how so? evidence? study? published in a reputable journal like ACM? IEEE?
The keyword is POCKET… .meaning, its portable. It works just like a cellphone, so why not try what you plan on doing with your phone first? I’m sure you know what would happen
Duh. Relate it with laptops that also have battery. Not necessarily pocket, portable, that it’s meant for battery usage always.
Duh. You said plugged day and night and let me tell you that I got a brand new sony vio laptop last year used solely for torrent downloading and runs 24/7 – It did not take 3 months to damage the battery. Therefore, your argument is invalid.
Then your laptop is weak! And your argument is invalid, agitated man! Our company’s laptops are rarely if at all, removed from their docking station (and batteries as well), and guess what, the batteries have very little wear if at all. So much for your laptop, so weak. How about trying the executive class Thinkpad series of Lenovo?
Does this SMART LTE sims have a bandwidth cap? I’m thinking kasi instead of getting the unli data plan (1500/month) I’d rather go with this para controlled ko yung internet ko. Di ko din kasi sure na masusulit ko yung mobile internet everyday since I’m always working half the day.
This isn’t true. Got myself an LTE Sim for my Lumia 820 w/c is an LTE-capable device. But I can only go as far as H+ signal in the 4G areas/coverage indicated in their website. Feel like I got ripped off. I want my money back. Grrr…
I think this is a device issue. I have Lumia 920 and it works really fine and super fast.
Do your Cellular Settings have 4G option for “highest connection speed”? If not, check if your phone already has a 1308 firmware upgrade.
dial this on ur phone ##3282
then, tap … at the bottom right of ur phone. tap settings and select network type 4G only.
enjoy!
If you are on Smart you have to subscribe to the LTE service…otherwise it defaults to 3G
Hi ronald can i ask you about my device??
I have an APPLE IPAD 2 do you think that SMART LTE simcard will be compatible to my IPAD?? As far as I know IPAD 2 supported only by 3G…
iPad 3 and later yung capable ng 4g
There’s a specific APN for this. When I bought my LTE SIM from Smart SM Marikina for my S4, they configured it for me na and 4G na ung nakikita ko. The speed flew like a rocket.
I think the APN name was Smart LTE and they typed in infos sa fields ng APN na un. After nun, hard reboot. Malakas 4G sa SM Marikina. Try niyo dun ipaconfigure.
sir adam, ask ko lang po kung saan makakabili ng smart lte prepaid sim? pumunta po ako kahapon sa sm moa pero wala po raw silang available stock. hope to hear an update sir. thank you very much!
Hi, wala po kaming list. Try niyo na lang po mag ask sa FB page ng Smart.
jusme, 7k for an LTE pocket mifi. that’s as much as a mid-range phone!
LTE naman daw. May cheaper pocket mifis naman din. :D
LTE antenna is different from the 3G antenna
As of now mahal pa, pero as time goes, bababa din presyo at pag naglabasan na mga china made pocket wifi sure baba din agad yan.