Philippines, recognized with first mover advantage for 5G

The Philippines has a first mover advantage in the region for enabling 5G due to the availability of the 5G spectrum in the country.

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Ericsson Senior Vice President and Head of South East Asia, Oceania & India Nunzio Mirtillo lauded the spectrum situation in the country saying, “Spectrum is a critical resource for 5G deployment. In the Philippines, service providers already own spectrum allowing operators to benefit from a first mover advantage with a speedy launch of 5G services”

Martin Wiktorin, Head of Ericsson Singapore, Brunei and Philippines continues, “With ready and available spectrum, the Philippines has great potential for a game-changing 5G opportunity. At Ericsson, we have been a long-term partner to major operators in the country and have established a strong local footprint over the past 31 years. Our technology is involved at all levels of the society, from connecting the remote province of the Batanes to the world with LTE to preserving mangrove forests with IoT solutions. We have also recently signed a MOU with Smart to launch Clark City as the country’s first Smart 5G city.”

According to the latest edition of the Ericsson Mobility Report, 5G is slated to be a game-changer with the technology uptake in many countries, including the Philippines, forecast to be even faster than expected. While previous generations of cellular mobile technology were centered around consumer and personal communications, 5G is a platform for innovation that will empower a global technology shift, establishing inter-connectivity between people, enterprises and systems worldwide.

With ultra-fast connectivity speeds and low latency rates, 5G has the capability to transform industries and enable the future of smart cities, bringing about new opportunities, efficiencies and business models. 5G will also provide the country with a competitive edge, increasing its attractiveness for foreign investors on the search for locations with digitalized operations. The most recent Ericsson ConsumerLab study 5G Consumer Potential also indicates that there is growing consumer interest in 5G, providing operators with a first mover advantage.

 “At Ericsson, we are first to deploy live 5G networks in four continents, providing us with the relevant expertise and experience to support operators on their 5G journey. We have been actively investing in R&D to establish a flexible portfolio with 5G-ready radios, spectrum sharing solutions, virtualized network functions as well as cloud native applications to allow for a seamless transition. Today, our 18 live networks with pioneering customers bears testament to the confidence service providers have in our products and services,” says Mirtillo.

As more 5G networks go live, the acceleration of 5G adoption is also fueled by chipset and device vendors launching smartphones for all main spectrum bands during the course of this year. Over 10 million 5G subscriptions are projected worldwide by the end of 2019. While 5G coverage is expected to reach 45 percent of the world’s population by 2024, a figure which could surge to 65 percent, as spectrum sharing technology enables 5G deployments on LTE frequency bands. Additionally, 12 percent of subscriptions in the  region of South East Asia and Oceania are predicted to be for 5G by 2024.