Smart Deploys Carrier-Grade Wi-Fi at Hospitals, Healthcare Facilities in Philippines

As part of increasing canvass of its communications services - Smart Communications, Smart Wifi service is now available in leading tertiary hospitals nationwide in the Philippines, so that patients and visitors alike can conveniently access the Internet for work, or for pleasure.

In partnership with Smart Communications, the wireless subsidiary of PLDT, carrier-grade WiFi has been installed at the Asian Hospital and Medical Center, De Los Santos Medical Center, Marikina Valley Hospital, Philippine Orthopedic Center; and Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Metro Manila; Sacred Heart Hospital of Malolos; Central Luzon Doctors Hospital; Bacoor Medical Hospital and Emilio Aguinaldo Hospital in Cavite; Davao Doctors Hospital in Davao City; West Metro Medical Center in Zamboanga City.

A backhaul capacity of up to 1 gigabit per second allows users to have the best digital experience when accessing their emails and social media accounts; making video and voice calls using apps; downloading movies or watching them online; playing eGames; and checking out relevant digital content and services that are available online.

“The deployment of Smart Wifi in hospitals is in line with our efforts to make Internet as pervasive as possible. By installing Smart Wifi in areas where many people converge, we help democratize access to high-speed Internet so people can surf like never before,” said Jovy Hernandez, FVP, and Head of Enterprise groups for PLDT and Smart.

More than just providing entertainment for the patients and their visitors, Smart’s WiFi facility helps the digital transformation of hospitals become a reality. Correspondence between the hospitals, and their clients and suppliers are made sea mless through the Internet. Most of these hospitals have enabled mechanisms for easier room reservations, social media queries, and feedback systems through a patient portal.

“The nationwide rollout of Smart Wifi complements the ongoing network expansion and modernization program across the country. The network upgrade has resulted in significant improvements in voice, SMS, and mobile Internet coverage and quality, particularly on its LTE (long Term Evolution) service. All these form part of an overarching effort to make the Internet accessible to all,” said Eric R. Alberto, Chief Revenue Officer of PLDT and Smart.

Asian Hospital, Makati Medical Center, De Los Santos Medical Center, Marikina Valley Hospital, Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Sacred Heart Hospital of Malolos, Davao Doctors Hospital, and Metro Medical Center are partly owned by Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC), a sister company of PLDT.

Smart is in the midst of re-equipping its cell sites to provide better indoor coverage and increase the capacity of each cell site to handle more calls, texts, and ever-increasing mobile data traffic.