Globe has successfully completed pilot deployments in Southeast Asia of the first multi-beam, multi-band lens antenna technology, which provides improved 4G/LTE and 5G mobile capacity and reduces coverage holes, especially in large gatherings. 

MANILA — The Philippine government is looking to create more incentives for telecommunication companies to entice more entities to join Asia’s first open radio access network (Open RAN), that seeks to liberalize internet connectivity and access in the country. 

The Open RAN laboratory — set to operate in May — is designed to create a space for telcos, engineering students and experts to test ways on how internet can be made faster and more affordable in the Philippines, Information and Communications Undersecretary Jeffrey Ian Dy told reporters.

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“The governments of US and Japan are offering financial incentives for telecommunications providers if they will be first to market Open RAN,” Dy told reporters on the sidelines of the laboratory’s soft launch at the University of the Philippines-Diliman. 

He said the Department of Information and Communications Technology has already discussed possible incentives with the National Economic and Development Authority and the Department of Trade and Industry. 

“When we go down the road we will take up the incentives para naman ma-compensate natin yung expense for being first to market this technology,” he said. 

The DICT hopes that through the Open RAN lab, an initiative established through the help of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), would help develop more shared components for telcos so that the cost of connectivity can be made cheaper in the country known as the social media capital of the world.

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“Our objective is that you will be able to mix and match different vendors, including open source systems so that it becomes more liberal,” Dy said. 

“If we further revamp our licensing regime, it could be possible that active components such as radio active networks can also be shared,” he said. 

“That’s what we are promoting para mas mababa din 'yung capital expense ng mga telcos,” he added. 

While the United States has agreed to provide monetary incentives for telcos who will join its Open RAN laboratory, the American government has yet to determine how much these incentives would be, said Ryan Washburn, USAID Mission Director to the Philippines. 

“The funding for the USAID is year by year but we have a congressional commitment to continue to fund this work and the Philippines will remain a priority,” Washburn told reporters. 

“We have all indications that it will remain a priority in the Trump administration. This Open RAN technology has been a key component of US assistance to Asia and to the Philippines,” he said. 

But what is more certain is that Open RAN “will allow different vendors to provide different components of the system that will eventually lead to faster, more secure and more affordable internet connection and connectivity,” Washburn said.

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The USAID’s push to start an Open RAN laboratory in the Philippines started in 2023 after US President Joe Biden said that Washington will help Manila in advancing the Philippines’ 5G rollout. 

The Open RAN laboratory “will provide hands-on training to current and aspiring 5G professionals, provide an opportunity for vendors and operators to deploy RAN, and educate local engineers in how to design, build and operate these networks,” the USAID said in a document. 

Last year, the World Bank said that the Philippines continues to lag some of its Southeast Asian neighbors in terms of internet connectivity. 

The Philippines average speed for fixed broadband was at 92Mbps, lower than Singapore’s 264Mbps, Thailand’s 216Mbps, Malaysia’s 112Mbps, Vietnam’s 105Mbps, and Brunei’s 94Mbps, according to the World Bank’s “Better Internet for All Filipinos” 2024 report. 

In Southeast Asia, the Philippines has the third most expensive rate for fixed broadband, only behind Cambodia and Myanmar, the study said.