Smart makes first "pure 5G" call in Southeast Asia

In December 2018, Smart successfully achieved the first 5G call in the Philippines. It was a non-standalone (NSA) type of 5G call.

The first "pure 5G" call in Southeast Asia

Recently, Smart together with Nokia proudly revealed that they were able to make the very first 5G standalone (SA) video call in Southeast Asia.

The real 5G?

According to Smart, the company used the Nokia SA equipment at the PLDT-Smart 5G Technolab in Makati City to make this feat possible.

During the test of the 5G call

To recall, 5G SA has been described as "pure 5G" since it solely relies on 5G for data transmission. It is said to allow users to enjoy the full benefits of 5G. On the other hand, 5G NSA uses both 5G and existing 4G/LTE resources to transmit data.

Smart is saying that this is the real 5G and it is faster than most 5G implementations today that actually need LTE.

But with 5G SA tech, users can benefit from the true speed of 5G. It can be used for industry applications such as massive connectivity for thousands of devices, ultra-low latency of under 10ms, ultra-high reliability, distributed cloud computing, unified security, and network slicing, among others.

PLDT's chief information and technical advisor Joachim Horn even claimed that other 5G implementations are just as fast as 4G LTE. He added that 5G's real low latency can only be achieved using the 5G SA configuration.

Smart added that ultra-low latency is important for 5G use cases such as video analytics plus industrial robotics control for manufacturing, remote crane/tractor operations in challenging/hazardous environments like mines and ports as well as for real-time gaming with tactile sensors (chest impact suit, gloves, and tactile feedback enabled weapons).

Smart is expected to launch its 5G service in early 2020.