SMART Communications Inc. has fired up the first two 5G cell sites in the country with the intent of developing solutions and applications for Makati City and Clark Freeport Zone.
Manuel V. Pangilinan, the company’s chairman, said on Wednesday that by firing up the first two towers equipped with 5G equipment, this puts Smart “alongside the first-tier operators in the world to have deployed live 5G base stations.”
This, he added, “is part of our commitment to bring the most advanced technologies to the country.”
Smart Chief Revenue Officer Eric R. Alberto added that with the setting up of new 5G stations, the telco can start piloting the development of solutions that can cater to “densely populated areas.”
“With 5G resources now in place, we are looking at developing 5G solutions and applications for central business district areas like Makati, which host a dense population of businesses, people and advanced devices,” he said.
Smart partnered with Huawei to fire up the cell site in Makati, while it tapped Ericsson for the initiative in Clark.
“With 5G cell sites now live and on-air, we are now set to test 5G’s powerful platform to develop solutions, such as autonomous vehicles, connected fleets, and smart buildings and factories, and be able to deliver 5G services to our customers soon,” said Joachim Horn, PLDT-Smart chief technology and information advisor.
5G is the fifth generation of mobile Internet technology. It is considered, when commercially launched worldwide, to be the fastest commercial Internet connectivity with speeds ranging from 50 Mbps to 100 Mbps.
Mobile use of 5G has yet to be developed, but telcos around the globe have been developing their own networks to be equipped with 5G-ready instruments.