28 Sep PT&T to test 5G services

LISTED telecommunications services provider Philippine Telegraph and Telephone Corp. (PT&T) is planning to evaluate the viability of its plan to offer 5G fixed-wireless broadband services.

PT&T said in a statement e-mailed to reporters at the weekend that it would be “testing 5G fixed-wireless broadband on a proof of concept basis soon.”

“This is in line with the company’s initiative to get into 5G broadband services in the near future,” it added.

The company noted it had 23% revenue growth year-on-year for the first six months of the year due to the 22% increase in its broadband connections.

James G. Velasquez, president and chief executive officer of PT&T, said: “We are now benefiting from having spent the past two years transforming both PT&T’s operations and product offerings to be relevant in the digital age.”

“This makes us even more resilient during these times as the requirement for high speed internet and digital services becomes a priority,” he added.

The company said it had signed a partnership deal with Go Philippines, a social enterprise, to “offer critical broadband internet solutions for the academe, improving user experience for a quality education.”

PT&T said it currently has “a network reach of 13,500 fiber kilometers in high-growth areas and covering almost 40% of the total Philippine population.”

PT&T remains keen on its plan to provide mobile services in the country since the penetration of smartphones continues to grow and the advent of 5G technology provides an ability for the company to enhance various applications.

The company has been studying the latest concepts in implementing “vizualization of network components into data centers.”

“This will expectedly reduce the numbers of network elements deployed throughout the country and will substantially reduce cost and implementation period,” PT&T said in a statement in June.

News source: Business World