The US Trade and Development Agency is providing a grant to NOW Telecom Company Inc., an associate of listed NOW Corp., for a feasibility study to help develop a secure nationwide 5G network.
NOW said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange that the project involves three key infrastructure components to design and implement a pilot 5G SA network in Metro Manila, design a nationwide stand-alone 5G wireless network and design and plan for a nationwide broadband network.
The company said the project advances priorities of the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment and the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, with the goal of developing, expanding and deploying secure digital infrastructure to power economic growth and facilitate open digital societies.
This followed the trilateral meeting on April 12, 2024 among US President Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
NOW Telecom earlier signed a memorandum of understanding with Rakuten Symphony (part of the Rakuten Group, a technology conglomerate based in Tokyo) to establish a collaborative framework for the deployment of a 5G Open RAN Pilot deployment in the Philippines.
Under the terms of the agreement, Rakuten Symphony and NOW Telecom will collaborate with the aim of developing disaggregated networks and open interfaces in the country.
Both parties will contribute expertise, resources and technology to jointly develop SG and related ICT solutions for NOW Telecom’s network.