PLDT, Nokia team up for IoT services

MANILA, Philippines — Telco giant PLDT Inc. and Nokia are set to make commercially available soon a first in the country solution that would help businesses accelerate their digital transformation and boost customer experience.

PLDT, through PLDT Enterprise and its wireless arm Smart Communications Inc., has teamed up with Nokia to develop enterprise-specific Internet of Things (IoT) services for its customers across the country.

PLDT said the Smart IoT platform, which will be fully ready within the year, would transform the way IoT applications are deployed and managed in the country.

The Smart IoT platform, according PLDT, would further enhance businesses by allowing them to have full real-time visibility and control to up to hundreds of thousands of connected devices.

The PLDT-Nokia partnership could help build IoT-enabled industries by providing relevant business solutions for more efficient management of interconnected devices at scale.

“We put this vision forward with the Philippines’ first localized IoT offer and we believe that this will ultimately pave the way for the Philippines’ transformation to a nation of smart cities,” ePLDT president and CEO and PLDT and Smart enterprise business groups senior vice president and head Jovy Hernandez said.

The IoT initiative forms part of PLDT’s strategy in building a complete 5G ecosystem.

“At PLDT Enterprise, our vision is to make a positive impact on every single business, especially today as the pandemic continues to challenge the way we normally do things. And we affirm our unbreakable commitment to continue enabling the digital transformation of industries through innovative technologies such as the Internet of Things. But for PLDT-Smart, this is so much more than IoT, as it opens up a lot of possibilities that were previously only a dream,” he said.

Hernandez earlier described IoT as a “technological revolution with immense potential in improving the way we do things.”

The telco giant expects the launch of the platform to further complement PLDT Enterprise’s already extensive solutions portfolio.

Nokia has been a longstanding systems and network partner of the PLDT Group.

The company earlier expressed optimism on the growth of its business in the country as it looks to capitalize on the country’s 5G transformation in the next few years.

“We are excited about the opportunity to work with PLDT and Smart on the whole IoT environment. As a partner, we not only bring just a platform, but also the business experience we have around the world, providing technology and business solutions to help drive enterprise growth,” Nokia Philippines head Carlos Reyes said.