TELECOM | Smart fires up commercial 5G Standalone network in Makati City
Smart has further ramped-up its 5G leadership as it fires up its commercial 5G SA sites in Makati City, powering up one of the first 5G SA networks in the world.
Closeups Photo Of Mobile Phone Connected To 5G Network
As a true pioneer in 5G, Smart Communications first began exploring 5G in 2016. Smart also fired up the country’s first 5G base stations in 2018 and made the first 5G Stand Alone (SA)-powered video call in Southeast Asia in August 2019.
Smart has further ramped-up its 5G leadership as it fires up its commercial 5G SA sites in Makati City, powering up one of the first 5G SA networks in the world.
“Through the years, PLDT and Smart have been at the forefront of breakthrough innovations in the telco industry, including 5G,” said Alfredo S. Panlilio, PLDT Inc. and Smart Communications president & chief executive. With the first batch of our 5G SA sites now fully operational, we are starting to see the true capabilities of 5G which will play a critical role in the advancement of massive IoT, health care and smart cities, delivering customer experience that is truly world-class.”
5G SA technology paves the way for a variety of new industry applications that utilize 5G’s full features. 5G SA will provide super-fast response times and faster access to higher data rates that are required by cloud gaming, or immersive media, for example. This connectivity will also help drive the future-readiness of telco network, creating new business opportunities and enabling new consumer services beyond the mobile phone screens. Customers will be able to project everything on any surface or use Augmented Reality (AR) glasses to superimpose images, videos, and information right in front of them. Adding holographic projectors, they will be able to bring people, objects and even pets right next to them.
“Technology plays an important role in today’s society as evidently seen during the pandemic,” said Mario G. Tamayo, head of Technology at PLDT and Smart. “5G and LTE have provided us with the means to stay connected with our loved ones, work, and study from our homes, and find means to keep ourselves entertained as we continue to keep our families safe. 5G SA, as an innovation platform, will create new opportunities for enterprises and consumers that will maximize its ultra-reliable and low latency capabilities. This enables industrial automation, autonomous mobile robotics deployment, safe remote crane operations, fast response in gaming and interactive video streaming, among others. We are creating opportunities for the Filipino Enterprises to compete in the global arena.”
New opportunities
In firing up its first 5G SA sites at the PLDT and Smart headquarters in Makati, Smart has upgraded its 5G facilities, enabling them to connect with the 5G core network.
With 5G SA in place, Smart can soon offer Voice over New Radio (VoNR) and network slicing capabilities, as well as support new industrial and enterprise opportunities. Smart made its first successful VoNR call as early as June this year at the Technolab in Smart Tower in Makati City.
PH’s fastest 5G network
This latest development cements Smart’s position at the forefront of 5G innovations in the Philippines.
Smart has also teamed up with technology partner Ericsson in bringing the latest technologies and developing 5G use cases at the PLDT-Smart Technolab, which currently hosts one of the 5G SA sites.
According to third-party analytics firm Ookla, Smart is the country’s fastest 5G Network, based on results of Speedtests taken in Q1-Q2 2021.
Smart also operates the widest 5G Network in the Philippines with over 4,000 sites deployed nationwide. This network is supported by parent company PLDT’s fiber infrastructure, the Philippines’ most extensive at over 524,000 kilometers as of end-June.
