PLDT wireless arm Smart Communications has fired up the country’s first 5G cell sites in the Makati and Clark.
Smart 5G
Earlier in the year, Smart opened their 5G Technolab for research, development, and testing 5G technologies. Fast forward a few months, the results of this endeavor has materialized. They have put up the first 5G cell sites in the country.
Smart recently activated the first 5G cell sites in the Philippines, located in the Makati Business District and at the Clark Freeport Zone in Pampanga.
Related: Smart, PLDT testing 5G in the Philippines with new facility
The cell site in Makati was placed on the PLDT headquarters with technology partner Huawei, while the one in Clark was with another technology parter, Ericsson. For compatibility, these new cell sites are 3GPP standard compliant and are the first to be activated in the country.
“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,” said Ernesto R. Alberto, PLDT and Smart Executive Vice President and Chief Revenue Officer.
The first 5G cell sites will fast track the progress of the Internet of Things (IoT) in the Philippines. It opens up possibilities for the development of smart and connected cities. Fast mobile data, for example, has the capacity to drastically improve and enhance the efficiency and effectivity of connected vehicles, home appliances, and personal accessories and wearables.
As for smartphones, companies such as Xiaomi, OPPO, and Vivo have been testing 5G technologies. Xiaomi claims their Mi Mix 3 already supports 5G. OPPO and Vivo, on the other hand, have already tested the 5G network on models based on existing retail devices. They are targeting 2019 to release 5G smartphones for everyone.
