PLDT Inc. plans to launch its initial 5G service sometime in the second half of the year more than a quarter behind rival Globe Telecom Inc., which is expected to introduce its 5G product this week.
Asked how his group will position itself once Globe claims to be the first Filipino telco to launch 5G services, PLDT Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan simply laughed, and replied: “We all know that 5G network is going to be a very cellsite-extensive network. It will be heavy and bloody. So it’s not going to be easy.”
In order to be reliable, 5G—which will make use of short-distance, high-capacity frequencies—will require a very contiguous network buildup. Some experts advise a 500-foot distance between towers to make 5G a successful product.
Globe is expected to introduce its fixed wireless 5G service to the home this Friday.
Pangilinan noted his group will most likely launch its own 5G services for the home and enterprise within the fourth quarter, as the group guns to finish its pilot testing for 5G use cases in the coming months.
Currently, the company is testing the 5G radio devices of ZTE, Cisco, Nokia, Ericsson and Huawei.
“We might start with the home and enterprise. But what we have to ask are what the relevant cities, customer premises equipment are for home and enterprise,” he said.
The method by which PLDT will be delivering its 5G services is expected to be through its fixed wireless network.
“We think it will open new vistas for new services, new products and new revenues,” Pangilinan noted.
5G is seen as the next mobile technology that will revolutionize not only the way people communicate with each other, but also how devices talk to one another to create a smart environment.
Early-use cases seen are connected to the Internet of Things, a school of thought that calls for the connectedness of devices via one medium—the mobile phone.