PLDT Inc. and its wireless unit Smart Communications Inc. plan to test US-based AST SpaceMobile’s satellite to provide connectivity across the country including in far-flung areas.
Smart and AST SpaceMobile presented their plans with the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and the National Telecommunications Commission to conduct tests of AST SpaceMobile’s BlueWalker 3 satellite, which is being designed to communicate directly with unmodified mobile phones from low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites.
Smart will be the first to test this technology in the Philippines.
Emmanuel Rey Caintic, DICT acting secretary, said given the country’s archipelagic nature, deploying typical terrestrial broadband infrastructure across the Philippines has been a challenge especially in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas.
“Fortunately, newer technologies in satellites are capable of providing much-needed cellular connectivity with more flexibility in their deployment. LEO satellites are an excellent addition to our solution set as they offer low latency, high throughput internet to our GIDAs, and AST SpaceMobile’s technology which is being designed to directly connect to ordinary smartphones could be a game-changer,” Caintic said.
At the forefront of innovation, PLDT and Smart said they are always ready to work hand-in-hand with government to support its thrust to connect more Filipinos across the country and help revitalize the post-pandemic digital economy, said Roy Ibay, Smart head of regulatory.
In July 2021, Smart signed a memorandum of understanding with AST SpaceMobile, a company building “the first space-based cellular broadband network accessible directly by standard mobile phones.”
Earlier this year, PLDT and global satellite operator Telesat of Canada also successfully conducted the Philippines’ first on-orbit testing of high-speed broadband connectivity with Telesat’s Phase 1 LEO satellite.
This marks another milestone for PLDT as the country’s first local service provider to conduct live in-orbit test over LEO satellite using an end-user terminal installed at the PLDT facility in Greenhills.
These relationships highlight opportunities for the country, through PLDT and Smart, to use innovations in the satellite industry to expand mobile and internet services to more hard-to-reach communities across an archipelago like the Philippines.
PLDT and Smart said their pioneering foray into satellite-powered communication is part of a broader initiative to deliver world-class customer services across the country, complementing the nationwide rollout of their fiber optics and wireless networks based on 4G and 5G technologies.
