{"id":44463,"date":"2021-07-19T09:27:16","date_gmt":"2021-07-19T01:27:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/?p=44463"},"modified":"2021-07-19T09:27:20","modified_gmt":"2021-07-19T01:27:20","slug":"smarts-5g-site-in-argao-enables-mountain-telemedicine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/2021\/07\/19\/smarts-5g-site-in-argao-enables-mountain-telemedicine\/","title":{"rendered":"Smart\u2019s 5G site in Argao enables mountain telemedicine"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Smart Communications Inc. (Smart) has fired up more 5G sites across the country, underscoring the company\u2019s leadership in providing nationwide connectivity, particularly 5G.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

With its fast-tracked rollout, more communities have also been reached by Smart 5G\u2019s super-fast data service, which is now in more than 3,000 sites across the country. One of these is Barangay Linut-od, a mountain barangay in Argao in the province of Cebu, situated 23-kilometers away from the town proper. The availability of this technology in the area has enabled remote patient health consultation\u2014or what we now know as \u201ctelemedicine\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mario G. Tamayo, Head of Technology at PLDT and Smart, emphasized the importance of expanding the network to support far-flung communities, even with the hurdles posed by the pandemic. \u201cRolling out the network in an archipelago and the countryside presents various unique challenges. But we are committed to expanding our network and making sure our technology reaches all communities and have the best customer experience with Smart.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Smart powers Mountain Telemedicine<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The COVID-19 pandemic has made telemedicine the practical mode of patient-doctor consultations. \u200bIt offers a low-cost and more convenient means of delivering healthcare services that can support mountain communities and reach more residents living in far-flung areas like Linut-od.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among the beneficiaries of mountain telemedicine is a 51-year-old patient in Linut-od, Elena Camson, who was diagnosed with End-Stage Renal Disease in 2018. Before the firing up of Smart\u2019s cell site in the barangay, Elena had to travel to the town proper for her medical consultations. \u201cWhen there was still no network signal here, we had to go to the city for check-ups. We used to walk from our house to another barangay where we can ride jeepneys to reach the city,\u201d says Elena.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Argao\u2019s community doctor, Dr. Stanley Caminero operates two charity clinics in Argao: one in the municipality\u2019s town proper and one in barangay Linut-od. With telco facilities enhancing the delivery of medical services, efforts at promoting healthcare can now reach longer distances and underserved communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA strong network signal is a huge help in our advocacy to treat patients, which is made possible by telemedicine. Patients can directly contact us whenever they feel sick or if they are in need of consultation, especially if they cannot immediately proceed to the city hospital,\u201d shared Dr. Caminero.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since the Smart cell site in Linut-od, Argao was fired up in 2019, the delivery of essential health services in the barangay has also improved. Cristina Alberca, Barangay Health Worker for 3 years, has also felt the difference and the massive improvement in the mobilization of their services since the availability of signal and connectivity in the barangay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBack then, we had to tread our way to the different puroks <\/em>or districts because we did not have direct access to them. With Smart\u2019s fast connectivity, our job has been made easy. We\u2019ve created several group chats via online multi-media platforms where we can directly send announcements, updates, and schedules in order to also prevent crowding,\u201d shared Alberca. Alberca and other barangay health workers have utilized technology and connectivity in ensuring the timely delivery of quality healthcare in the mountain barangay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Caminero underscores the value of fast and reliable connectivity in enabling a more inclusive healthcare service, especially in unserved and underserved communities, \u201cThrough Smart\u2019s 5G signal, we can assure quality service and accurate diagnoses to our patients. I hope for the continuous connectivity advancement in our mountain barangays, especially those areas that are still not reached by network providers. It can greatly aid us, especially in treating patients living in the mountains with little access to quality healthcare service.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Smart\u2019s 5G nationwide rollout, strengthening its leadership<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Launched last year, Smart ‘s 5G service was quickly expanded to cover key cities in Visayas and Mindanao, strengthening the company’s commitment to bring the best digital technologies closer to more Filipinos across the country. This advancement has benefitted several communities, including mountain barangays in Argao.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Continuing this big push for 5G in the country, Smart also recently expanded its Unli 5G offer to cover all Smart 5G sites nationwide–an unprecedented move that enables more Filipinos to enjoy Smart\u2019s most powerful offer on its fastest technology yet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5G, the latest upgrade in wireless communications, offers fiber-like data speeds on mobile and ultra-low latency, enabling excellent customer experience in uploading and downloading large files, uninterrupted playing of online games, seamless streaming of high-resolution videos, and next-level audio-video call experience which aids mountain telemedicine, among others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These initiatives are part of PLDT and Smart\u2019s continuous expansion of their fully integrated network, the largest in the country. Smart’s mobile network, which serves 96% of the population from Batanes to Tawi-Tawi, has also been recognized as the fastest mobile network in the country by third-party analytics firms including Ookla and Opensignal. Enabling Smart’s 5G network is PLDT’s fiber infrastructure, the country’s most extensive at over 478,000 kilometers as of end-March 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Smart5G, has also been cited as the fastest 5G network in the Philippines by Ookla. Based on consumer-initiated tests taken using Speedtest\u00ae by Ookla, Smart has consistently posted the fastest 5G speeds for Q1 2021, with median download speeds of 190 Mbps \u2013 more than double the competition’s speeds for the same period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PLDT and Smart\u2019s relentless push to provide connectivity for all is aligned with the group\u2019s long-standing commitment to help the Philippines attain the UN\u2019s Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG #9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With its fast-tracked rollout, more communities have also been reached by Smart 5G\u2019s super-fast data service, which is now in more than 3,000 sites across the country. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":44464,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[343],"class_list":["post-44463","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-headlines","tag-smart-communications"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44463","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44463"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44463\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44464"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44463"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44463"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44463"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}