Smart Communications Inc. (Smart) has teamed up with OPPO of China to develop 5G Standalone (5G-SA) use cases in the Philippines.
"By maximizing its ultra-reliable and low latency capabilities, 5G-SA paves the way for new innovation and opportunities for enterprises and consumers alike," said Mario G. Tamayo, Head of Technology at Smart and PLDT, Smart’s parent company.
Smart has recently fired up of its commercial 5G-SA sites in Makati. The 5G-SA technology enables a variety of new industry applications that utilize 5G’s advanced features features, enabling super-fast response times and faster access to higher data rates that are required by cloud gaming, or immersive media, for example. Using these advanced capabilities in Smart's 5G network, new consumer and business services, beyond mobile phone screens, could be developed.
OPPO Philippines Marketing Director, Ele Yu, said OPPO is “proud to partner with Smart in its pursuit of being at the forefront of the 5G evolution.”
"We are committed to continuously provide Filipino consumers with reliable 5G enabled smartphones ranging from entry level to flagship offerings that will enable our consumers to move bigger and do more,” she said.
Smart and OPPO have been collaborating to test OPPO's 5G smartphones' compatibility on Smart's 5G-SA network using the OPPO Find X3 Pro, as well as successfully demonstrating the potential of Voice over New Radio, or VoNR.
VoNR further elevates the voice and video call experience of users, enabling better call quality using the 5G-SA network.
Smart made its first successful VoNR call as early as July last year at the Technolab.