BUSINESSMAN Manuel V. Pangilinan said the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) and Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) may team up for the deployment of 5G network.
“Yes, we could work with Meralco. It’s a thought discussed internally at PLDT and we are probably the biggest pole user of Meralco,” he said.
PLDT is planning to initially deploy 5G in Luzon. It earlier signed a memorandum of understanding with Ericsson for the 5G deployment possibly within the first half of next year.
Pangilinan said Meralco poles could be ideal for the rollout of 5G, saying, “We are aware of that possibility” though he said, “nothing has been finalized.”
The wireless arm of PLDT, Smart Communications Inc., has been testing 5G since 2016, when it achieved with technology partner Nokia 5G speeds of 2.5 gigabits per second using 100 MHz with latency of just one millisecond over a live network.
Rival Globe Telecom Inc. earlier announced plans to deploy 5G by the second quarter of 2019.
Pangilinan said the partnership with Ericsson is part of the company’s commitment to bring to the country the latest technologies to improve the experience of customers, while also boosting the digital transformation of enterprises and industries.
“As 5G opens up more opportunities for new services and solutions to offer to our customers, we are investing in future-proofing our network and making sure that our network is ready for 5G,” Pangilinan said.