Following NOW Corp.’s acquisition of additional shares in NOW Telecom Co. Inc., the latter announced that it has set its sights beyond its enterprise clients.
NOW Corp. Chairman Mel Velarde said his group will soon offer “pre-5G broadband speed of up to 2 Gbps…to the residential and consumer markets through fixed wireless access and mobile cellular devices.”
“NOW Telecom’s licenses and its evolving business plan, which is a work in progress with Nokia, would allow us to offer gigabit speed to both fixed and mobile cellular broadband subscribers,” Velarde said in a statement.
The NOW Group signed a memorandum of understanding with Nokia that provides for the “expansion” of Now’s current broadband network through 5G standalone technologies last December.
The agreement also provides for the creation of a commercial framework agreement through the development of various 5G use cases that may be applicable to the Philippine market.
“This NOW-Nokia Agreement on 5G Collaboration shall bring about the multi-gigabit broadband Internet era in the Philippine Telecom, Media and Technology markets. Now’s strategy is clear: to expand its current guaranteed service to high-end markets via 5G Fixed Wireless Access and extend this compelling customer experience to consumers via 5G mobile cellular broadband service,” said Velarde.
He added that NOW’s 5G standalone network will deliver “enhanced mobile broadband and ultra-low latency” that may support augmented and virtual reality applications, 8K video streaming, and other use cases for enterprise, government, and households.
NOW Corp. announced last Friday its subscription of 1 million primary common shares in Now Telecom at a share price of P600 each or about P600 million.
NOW Telecom is gearing for a public listing, appointing Unicapital Inc. as manager and advisor for its debut on the stock exchange and its corporate restructuring program. It also plans to offer 5G services through its cellular mobile telecommunications system franchise.
The NOW Group previously affirmed its interest in the third telco license, but backed out on the day of the auction for the frequencies. It has since branded itself as the “fourth telco,” a claim that resulted in penalties from the bourse for “misleading the investing public with its claim.”