USTDA & NOW Telecom partner for 5G, NBN
By EMMIE V. ABADILLA
The US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA), and NOW Telecom Company, Inc. partnered to deploy a nationwide stand-alone 5G mobile and fixed wireless network in the Philippines, the local telco disclosed Friday, January 13.
The USTDA, a foreign assistance agency of the US government that connects the US private sector to infrastructure projects in developing and middle-income countries, will provide a grant to fund a technical assistance (TA) and 5G pilot network launch for NOW Telecom's 5G deployment.
The partners signed a Letter of Intent at the 5th Annual Indo-Pacific Business Forum (IPBF) in Tokyo, Japan.
The business forum promotes trade, investment and economic cooperation between the United States and Indo-Pacific nations, including the Philippines.
The TA will provide NOW Telecom with the necessary analysis, designs and plans for the phased implementation of its project.
It covers conducting a 5G pilot network at multiple sites in Metro Manila to validate network performance, test 5G use cases, and provide data to inform larger scale deployment.
Furthermore, the TA includes examination of available various financing schemes including grant, equity, and debt financing from potential donors, investors and financial institutions and assessment of the level of interest of funding organizations, the amount and terms of potential financing, and specific financial requirements for the project's implementation.
"Our goal is to deliver a clean and secure 5G network that will help achieve social and financial mobility, reduce inequality, improve health and education, and spur economic growth for the Filipino people,” says NOW Telecom Chairman and CEO, Mel Velasco Velarde.
“Our partnership with USTDA will help us achieve this mission," he concluded.