DIGITAL services provider PLDT Inc. and Huawei Technologies Philippines have sealed a memorandum of understanding to jointly conduct research and development on 5G, or fifth-generation wireless-broadband technology.
The deal stipulates that Smart Communications Inc., Huawei and PLDT work together and shape the strategic and commercial development of the 5G ecosystem in the Philippines.
Specifically, the parties are looking to identify and develop the areas of technological innovation needed to deliver 5G, expected to provide the foundation for a digitally connected society.
To do this, the partners will soon set up a 5G innovation lab and create a showcase network.
“This collaboration with Huawei is an important part of PLDT and Smart’s efforts to bring the most advanced technologies to the Philippines,” PLDT Chief Corporate Services Officer Ray C. Espinosa said. “It will enable us to best serve our customers and help boost the country’s development in a world that is rapidly turning digital.”
The deal was signed by PLDT Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan and Huawei Philippines CEO Jacky Gao Kexin. Global estimates showed the technology will be available by 2020.
Late last year, Smart and Huawei successfully combined five frequencies through Carrier Aggregation (CA), a capability of LTE-A, to achieve data speeds of 1.4 gibabits per second.
Smart also used CA in April last year to roll out the country’s first LTE-A service. Initially deployed in Boracay and soon in major urban areas, such as Metro Davao, Metro Cebu and Metro Manila, Smart’s LTE-A service delivers peak speeds of more than 100 Mbps to users with LTE-A-capable devices.
“With these breakthroughs, we successfully demonstrated that very high speeds demanded by the advent of the ‘Gigabit Society’ can be supported using LTE technology, and with the spectrum available to PLDT and Smart,” said Joachim Horn, chief technology and information advisor for PLDT and Smart.
Just as it did with 4G LTE, Smart is looking to extend the benefits of 5G to as many Filipinos as possible, as soon as it is available.
“We are focused on ensuring our current investments in network facilities will enable us to be ready with the necessary infrastructure foundation for 5G when it arrives sometime in 2020,” he said.
Smart is in the middle of a multi-year, multimillion-dollar nationwide network-expansion program to improve both coverage and quality of service, particularly its 4G LTE service.
This program, along with the upgrade of PLDT’s fixed access networks, forms part of the company’s transformation toward 5G-readiness, Horn said.