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Elijah Felice Rosales - The Philippine Star
August 5, 2025 | 12:00am
PLDT yesterday said it has tested the performance of the FWA solution offered by Oregon-based Radisys Corp. as part of efforts to scale up capability in providing internet service.
BusinessWorld / File
MANILA, Philippines — Telco leader PLDT Inc. is studying the viability of rolling out a new fixed wireless access (FWA) technology to bring fiber-like connectivity in hard-to-reach communities.
PLDT yesterday said it has tested the performance of the FWA solution offered by Oregon-based Radisys Corp. as part of efforts to scale up capability in providing internet service.
Radisys developed an FWA that can extend the same volume of consistency and speed as a fiber connection, but minus the need for underground cabling, which is hard to do in remote towns.
For PLDT, the solution can benefit geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas (GIDAs). It functions like a cellular site, featuring a single base node that can connects to remote radio nodes in customer premises like buildings and houses.
The FWA offers fiber-like speeds over the air. Simply put, PLDT sees the technology as one way to narrow the digital gap by providing not just access, but quality as well.
During the preliminary tests, the FWA offered by Radisys posted a download speed of 945 Mbps and an upload speed of 929 Mbps.
Further, PLDT’s network personnel were able to complete tasks like browsing the web, running Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, streaming videos, among others, using the technology.
PLDT vice president and head of wireless network strategy and architecture Radames Zalameda said Radisys has already deployed its FWA in large mass markets like India, proving its potential to become a connectivity backbone for GIDAs.
PLDT head of wireless network strategy and transformation office Lennart Olaivar said the telco can save some cash for infrastructure buildup through the FWA. The solution requires little to no civil work, unlike fixed broadband that demands digging to place the cables underneath.
“This point-to-multipoint solution offers a simpler, faster way to deploy high-speed connectivity without the need for extensive civil works. It delivers fiber-like speeds over the air, making it an ideal option in hard-to-reach or underserved areas,” Olaivar said.
PLDT is exploring multiple ways of bringing connectivity to consumers.
In 2023, it piloted the passive optical network technology needed for a 50-Gbps service.
As of March, the provider led by business magnate Manuel V. Pangilinan manages the country’s widest fiber infrastructure, spanning 1.2 million kilometers covering 97 percent of the population.
