AFTER a long silence in the Philippine telecommunications network environment, the Finns are back.
The Espoo, Finland-based Nokia was recently tapped by PLDT’s wireless subsidiary Smart Communications Inc. to lead in piloting the deployment of fifth-generation (5G) wireless broadband technologies and services in schools.
In a memorandum of understating signing held in Makati City, the three companies will work together to determine world-class and enterprise-driven 5G institution’s stand-alone solutions, such artificial intelligence, drones, Internet of Things applications, for educational institutions. The tests will be done through the combined capabilities of the PLDT-Smart 5G Technolab in Makati and the Nokia Technology Center in Quezon City.
5G SA relies solely on 5G for data transmission, and allows the full benefit of 5G capabilities to be tested and demonstrated. In contrast, 5G NSA (non-standalone) combines the use of 5G and existing 4G/LTE resources to transmit data.
“As the country’s leading and most trusted technology enabler, PLDT and Smart are excited to work with Nokia and academe in realizing our 5G vision,” said Ernesto R. Alberto, PLDT-Smart chief revenue officer in a press briefing.
The MOU also covers deploying 5G SA technologies and innovative products and services, such as 5G handsets and applications, for example.
“By working with partners like Nokia in unlocking the full potential of 5G for Filipino enterprises and customers, we are putting the Philippines at par with the rest of the world in preparing for the deployment and adoption of 5G,” said PLDT-Smart Chief Technology and Information Advisor Joachim Horn.
Jae Won, head of Asia Pacific and Japan at Nokia, said the company is optimistic on the partnership with PLDT and Smart on the pioneering effort of deploying 5G SA. He said this will pave the way to the introduction of services like real-time remote control of robotics and autonomous driving of transport vehicles in the areas of Industrial Revolution 4.0 with new technologies like Network Slicing and Ultra Reliable and Low Latency Communications.
Smart and Nokia first explored 5G in 2016, when they achieved speeds of 2.5 Gigabits per second (Gbps) using 100 MHz with latency of just 1 millisecond over a “live” network—the first in the Philippines.
In June 2018, Smart rolled out its 5G Technolab in preparation for the deployment. It is the company’s flagship facility for the research and development, standardization, and testing of 5G, which is designed to be a sustainable environment for innovative services.
Furthermore, PLDT and Smart have recently launched the country’s first Smart 5G cities in Makati and Pampanga, after firing up the Philippines’s first 5G cell sites in the Clark Freeport Zone and at the PLDT headquarters in November last year. In the same month, they also successfully made the country’s first 5G-to-5G video call between the two 5G Smart cities. Ericsson and Huawei were the partners in the 5G testing in Makati and Pampanga.