PLDT, Smart 5G to launch in Clark, Pampanga

Leading Philippine telco, PLDT-Smart, together with Swedish telecom company Ericsson will launch 5G cell site in Clark, Pampanga this November 2018. Clark Freeport Zone will be the country's first Smart 5G City, which will bring the city 5G equipped together with the increased 4G LTE roll-out.

"We are happy to be working with CDC in building the city of the future, equipped with smart services and powered by 5G infrastructure, right here in Pampanga. This will benefit not only Clark but the country as well by demonstrating that we are in step with the rest of the world in adopting advanced intelligent technologies," said PLDT and Smart Chairman and CEO Manuel V. Pangilinan.

5G is the next generation in wireless Internet connectivity, and is up to 20 times faster than current 4G connectivity. 5G networks will improve the adoption of Internet of Things (IoT) technology for Filipinos, allowing for a smarter homes and community.

PLDT has already started 5G-compatible radio equipment across its network of 2,000 5G-ready sites nationwide and 221,000 kilometers of fiber optic cable.

How fast is Smart 5G?

5G network expected minimum standard speed is 100 MBps, max at around 2.5 GBps and have a latency (ping) that's not more than 1 ms (millisecond).

According to Ookla's Speedtest during Q1-Q2 2018 (January-June), Smart's average 4G LTE speed is 14.98 MBps. That means 5G is at least around 20 times faster!

So far, Smart's 5G tests have achieved speeds of around 312 Megabytes per second.

Smart is testing 5G network since 2016

Smart has been testing 5G since 2016, when it achieved speeds of 2.5 Gigabits per second (Gbps) using 100 MHz with latency of just 1 millisecond over a 'live' network—the first in the Philippines.

The company launched in June 2018 its 5G Technolab, a facility focusing on research and development, standardization, and testing of 5G wireless broadband technologies and services.

In August 2018, Smart and Ericsson signed an MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) to launch the first 5G pilot network by the first half of 2019.

In improving their network and implementing the 5G technology, PLDT is spending as much as P58 billion this year for capital expenditures, a historic amount for the telco giant.

What can you say about this PLDT-Smart 5G launch? Let us know in the comment section below.

Source: Smart Newsroom