PLDT Group plans to use 5G technology to boost the news operations of media unit TV5, a top executive said Tuesday.
PLDT chief revenue officer and Smart president and chief executive Alfredo Panlilio said with 5G available in its studios, TV5’s production teams, news anchors and reporters could start exploring Smart 5G-certified devices for live coverage and news gathering.
“This is part of our commitment to make the latest technologies, innovations and solutions available to our customers,” said Panlilio.
“Recently, we made Smart 5G commercially available so that our subscribers can try it out and enjoy its super-fast data service. With Smart 5G now up at the TV5 studios, we look forward to working more closely and co-innovating with TV5 to find out how we can further harness 5G together to modernize their news operations,” he said.
PLDT chief technology and information advisor Joachim Horn said “5G is a platform for you to innovate new solutions”.
“It provides you the flexibility to innovate your business with the solution you need in order to cope with the situation we are in,” Horn said.
“LTE is a one-size-fits-all network. You have one network and you can do many things with it. But because it is one-size-fits-all, it is not very flexible. That’s the difference with 5G,” he said.
Horn said 5G is also more flexible and “is highly customizable that makes it particularly interesting for Enterprise customers.”
Horn cited sample use cases that can analyze crowd and traffic flows using cameras. “This capability has become very relevant in the time of social distancing, to be able to—without physical contact or human interaction—to steer through crowds, avoid crowd build-up, or manage the traffic flow,” he said.
The strategy to deploy 5G has been embedded in Smart’s network planning over the past five years. PLDT’s wireless subsidiary started conducting tests with 5G in 2016.
It fired up the country’s first 5G base stations in Makati with Huawei and the Clark Freeport Zone in Pampanga with Ericsson in 2018. Last year, Smart launched the first Smart 5G Lifestyle hub and 5G-enabled shopping mall In Araneta City and the first Smart 5G campus at Ateneo de Manila University.
Smart’s 5G mobile network recently went live as a commercial service. In the initial phase of commercial deployment, Smart Signature, Infinity and other Smart postpaid subscribers will enjoy the super-fast data service of Smart 5G in key business districts of Metro Manila using Smart-certified handsets with 5G-activated SIMs.
These areas include the Makati central business district, Bonifacio Global City CBD, Araneta City, SM Megamall and Mall of Asia Bay Area.
Smart 5G is also being rolled out in key high-traffic areas such North Avenue in Quezon City, Taft Avenue in Manila, Ortigas CBD and Clark Green City in Central Luzon.