PLDT tests 5G capabilities

With 5G cell sites up and running in Makati City and the Clark Freeport Zone in Pampanga, telco giant PLDT Inc. demonstrated video calls between the two points on Wednesday.

The move comes as the industry prepares for the commercial launch of 5G by 2019, likely starting with business and home broadband customers to be followed by the broader consumer market as 5G-compatible handheld devices start rolling out in the latter part of the year.

From PLDT’s headquarters in Makati City, where the first 5G cell site in Metro Manila was installed, PLDT chief technology and information advisor Joachim Horn demonstrated a live video call to Clark Development Corp. president Noel Manankil at the Clark Smart 5G City in the Clark Freeport Zone.

The company also sought to show the compatibility between two different technology suppliers. The 5G call on Wednesday was made using 5G Radio and Core equipment of Smart’s technology partners Huawei in Makati and Ericsson in Clark.

“5G is real and it is now here in Makati and Clark,” PLDT chair and CEO Manuel V. Pangilinan said during the event.

“We are working very hard with our technology partners Huawei and Ericsson, as well as government and industrial partners like the Bases Conversion and Development Authority and CDC in piloting 5G use cases and establishing even more Smart 5G Cities across the country soon,” he added. —MIGUEL R. CAMUS