August 17, 2022 – Leading Philippine telco company PLDT’s wireless subsidiary Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) is collaborating with U.S.-based Omnispace to explore and demonstrate the capabilities of space-based 5G communications using low earth orbit (LEO) satellites.
Having launched Omnispace Spark-1 and Spark-2 in April and May, respectively, the company recently completed the deployment phase of “Omnispace Spark™.” This program is the initial phase in the company’s development and delivery of the world’s first global 5G-capable satellite network. The Omnispace 5G NTN global network will interconnect with terrestrial or land-based mobile networks to serve mobile subscribers utilizing the company’s 2 GHz mobile satellite spectrum allocation and operating in 3GPP band n256. As the world’s first 3GPP-compliant 5G NTN system, the Omnispace network is expected to deliver the power of 5G directly to billions of devices everywhere, extending the reach of mobile connectivity to enable people and assets to communicate in real-time through a single, seamless global service. PLDT and Smart’s 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 infrastructure, and wireless networks based on 4G and 5G technologies.