The Philippines’ PLDT, through mobile subsidiary Smart, has completed the first showcase of 5G speeds in the nation.
During the trial the companies achieved a peak speed of 2.5Gbps using 100 MHz of spectrum, as well as a latency of just 1ms.
The demo was conducted at the Nokia Manila Technology Center in Quezon City, and demonstrated use cases for 5G including 3D 360-degree VR streaming and the Nokia AirFrame data center platform for distributed cloud architectures capable of supporting real-time IoT operation.
“We are excited to work with Nokia in conducting cutting-edge research and development for 5G,” PLDT and Smart CEO Manuel Pangilinan said.
“This is a key part of our efforts to transform the PLDT and Smart network into the country’s most future-ready data infrastructure delivering a wide range of gigabit digital solutions.”
He said 5G will be critical to realizing Smart’s full vision for the IoT. The operator has a track record of investing in and helping drive the development of the IoT, including the founding the Philippines’ first Internet of Everything consortium in 2014.
Nokia’s Bell Labs predicts that there will be up to 5 billion IoT devices connected through mobile networks by the year 2020.