Nokia said Wednesday it sees an aggressive rollout of 5G technology in the Philippines to meet the anticipated higher demand from consumers and enterprises.
“5G is set to be a game-changer for the Philippines’s industries and enterprises. It represents a significant evolution over current LTE solutions, as this next generation in connectivity will empower organizations to achieve the new levels of reliability, security, multi-user capacity performance and mobility needed for them to make the best utility out of Industry 4.0 technologies and applications," Carlos Reyes, head of Nokia Philippines, said in a virtual briefing.
"5G also builds on LTE vertical differentiating capabilities—with crucial enhancements specifically relevant for industry—to enable it to unlock unprecedented productivity gains and connect all elements of industries and enterprises,” he said.
According to the 5G Readiness Report by Nokia Bell Labs, Nokia’s award-winning research arm, enterprises at an advanced level of 5G adoption were growing faster than their peers—having witnessed a net +10 percent increase in productivity during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The report also highlighted that while 86 percent of decision-makers said they have some form of 5G strategy, only 15 percent are investing in implementation.
Nokia formed 5G deals with local mobile operators Globe Telecom and DITO Telecommunity to expand on the delivery of 5G services nationwide.
It signed a three-year deal with Globe to upgrade its existing 4G network and expand the geographical reach of its 5G network at over 1,000 sites in the Philippines.
The deployment will cover the second and third largest islands of Mindanao and the Visayas and will begin in the second quarter of 2021, with completion expected by 2023.
Nokia will also deploy 5G services in Mindanao for DITO.
Nokia is also collaborating with PLDT Inc. and subsidiary Smart Communications to launch enterprise-specific internet of things services across the country and deploy comprehensive service orchestration and assurance solutions across PLDT’s and Smart Communication’s nationwide network.
The company is also helping Converge ICT Solutions Inc., Now Corp., Radius for their 5G technology rollout.
Nokia has 165 commercial 5G deals and is powering 66 live 5G operator networks. Of these, Nokia has 20 commercial 5G deals across the Asia Pacific and Japan region where the company is playing an active role in bringing the region to the 5G future, while also combining its network and security expertise to create security solutions for 5G networks.