Telco readies 5G rollout

CEBU, Philippines — Before it could complete the deployment of 4G or LTE (Long Term Evolution) infrastructure, PLDT and Smart are now preparing to roll out 5G capacity.

In an interview with PLDT and Smart chief revenue officer Eric Alberto, he said the company is now on the pilot stage of its 5G infrastructure, and by next year it will be rolled out in limited scale.

Fifth-generation wireless, or 5G, is the latest iteration of cellular technology, engineered to greatly increase the speed and responsiveness of wireless networks.

“Today global players [in the telecom industry] are looking at deploying/developing 5G infrastructure,” Alberto said adding that PLDT and Smart are in the forefront of this move.

The fifth generation wireless technology will enable machines to do intelligent chores, such as self-driving car, among others.

This would also allow, for example, a spectator in a football stadium to watch a live stream of an alternative camera angle of the action that matches what is going on the pitch ahead with no perceivable delay. The 5G technology opens the door for VR (virtual reality) and AR (augmented reality) applications in real-time forms.

Considering the speed of technology evolution these days, Alberto said the company has also started to connect with device providers that offer gadgets with 5G interface.

While the telecom infrastructure adjustment for other countries are much easier to navigate, the Philippines Alberto reiterated is difficult and more expensive being an archipelago.

PLDT and Smart he added still have to determine how much the Group is going to spend in setting up the full 5G infrastructure across the country.

Recently, the company announced that it targets hit 90 percent nationwide LTE coverage before the end of this year.

As of end-June, Smart has installed more than 3,900 LTE base stations, increasing the total count by 45 percent to over 12,600, and enabling Smart to improve its LTE coverage, as well as to activate LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), which offers even higher data speeds and capacity. (FREEMAN)