South Korea telecom to expand LTE roaming service to Philippines

SK Telecom Co., South Korea's top mobile carrier, said Thursday it plans to launch long-term evolution (LTE) roaming services in the Philippines as it moves to expand its global LTE footing.SK Telecom said it plans to cooperate with the Philippine's No. 2 mobile operator Globe to begin automatic LTE roaming services in the Southeast Asian country starting April 1.The move is the latest in SK Telecom's LTE roaming expansion. Earlier this month, the company launched the fourth-generation service in Singapore with SingTel.SK Telecom said it plans to expand the service this year with its partner companies in Bridge Alliance, an organization of over 10 mobile carriers in the Asia Pacific region.Meanwhile, as part of efforts to strengthen its LTE service, the mobile carrier said it plans to roll out LTE smartphones that support up to four LTE frequencies in the second half of the year.Among locally available LTE smartphones, Apple Inc.'s iPhone 5 is the only device that supports three or more LTE frequencies.