January 24, 2023 | 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — Mel Velarde’s NOW Telecom Co. Inc. has acquired the grant from the US authorities for the pilot launch of a 5G community that may help connectivity companies within the Philippines.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Inventory Alternate, NOW Corp. introduced that its affiliate NOW Telecom executed the grant settlement with the US Commerce and Growth Company (USTDA) for the deployment of 5G companies within the nation.
NOW Telecom and USTDA signed the grant settlement to fund the technical help for the 5G community challenge throughout the tenth US-Philippines Bilateral Strategic Dialogue final week.
NOW Telecom will use the financing to develop a safe 5G standalone community infrastructure within the Philippines.
Particularly, the grant will bankroll the Velarde-led telco in its effort to place up a wi-fi telephony community utilizing 5G know-how to spice up connectivity companies nationwide.
Based mostly on the plan, the technical help is split into three elements, the primary of which is the design of a nationwide 5G wi-fi community. Afterward, NOW Telecom will push by way of with the crafting of a national broadband service.
Within the final part, NOW Telecom is tasked to check in Metro Manila the 5G community it developed to evaluate its high quality and pace.
As a telco supplier, NOW Telecom needs to personal a standalone community that may prolong web connectivity, in addition to increase competitors available in the market, within the lengthy haul.
Underneath the grant, NOW Telecom will likely be assisted by Bell Labs Consulting, represented by Nokia of America Corp. because the prime contractor, in delivering the 5G community.
Additional, the pilot in Metro Manila will deploy community and radio tools, core community and software program produced by Nokia Americas.
Final 12 months, US Vice President Kamala Harris visited the Philippines to submit new initiatives that may fortify bilateral relations between Manila and Washington. In the course of the go to, Harris stated the US would work with NOW Telecom to launch 5G know-how for nationwide use.
NOW Telecom, for its half, advantages from the technical help it secured from the USTDA, because it plans to spend as a lot as P7.8 billion within the subsequent 10 years for its community enlargement.
In 2019 NOW Telecom introduced its entry within the 5G competitors, guaranteeing its customers of as much as 20 Gbps of obtain pace, however confronted regulatory points when it was slapped with sanctions for deceptive traders by labeling itself the fourth participant within the telco business.
