WITH THE EXPECTED rollout of fifth-generation wireless (5G) networks as early as next year, senior executives in the Philippines surveyed by MIT Technology Review said they expect the technology to boost several industries in the country, led by financial services, manufacturing and retail sectors.
In the report, titled: “From follower to leader: Digital transformation and the road to 5G southern Asia Pacific” e-mailed to journalists on Monday, MIT Technology Review Insights described the geographical group — consisting of Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand — as a “front-runner” in the shift to 5G which, at least theoretically, promises to be about 20 times faster than the current 4G, allowing quicker downloads of larger content, more interconnected gadgets and equipment, and more interactive applications, among others.
Which Asia-Pacific economies are on the road to 5G?
MIT Technology Review Insights polled 191 senior executives across the six countries in companies with $100 million to over $5 billion in global revenues. Chief information and chief technology officers made up a third of the total, while a quarter were heads for data, analytics, network or digital transformation. But the biggest share of 38% were top corporate brass like chief executive officers and managing directors.
“Respondents are somewhat optimistic about its relevance for them; 64% think their business efficiency would be increased by 5G and the same number are actively discussing how they will be affected by it,” the report said of Philippine respondents.
The two major telcos in the Philippines — PLDT, Inc. and Globe Telecom, Inc. — have both been preparing to bring 5G to the country for years. The next-generation network is expected to offer higher speeds and lower latency, which are both needed to handle a bigger size of mobile broadband users and process massive machine communications.
Once it us up, 5G is expected to not only improve connectivity among common Internet-capable devices such as mobile phones and laptops, but also drive development and use of the “Internet-of-things” that will connect a wide variety of home and office equipment.
“The country is actively moving towards the 5G era, which could improve the speed and power of its business services, and open new digital content and entertainment sectors for an online populace,” the report read.
It noted, however, that only 33% of Philippine respondents have started investing in technologies that would benefit from 5G. It added that while most expect 5G arrival in 2020, 35% are less optimistic and believe it to come only in 2021 or 2022.
Citing 2017 data from the International Telecommunications Union, the report said there are 57 million Internet users in the Philippines, or 56% of the population.
“As digital consumers, Filipinos are highly engaged online, spending an average of nearly four hours a day on social media… However, companies need to do more to build their digital presence so as to tap these markets… The country’s future digital innovation trends may also be shaped by its global diaspora, that could drive innovation in remittances and payments,” it said.
The report also rated how businesses respond to next-generation technologies that aim to optimize workflow. It said some of the executives surveyed flagged challenges such as high cost of deployment (by 45% of Philippine respondents), lack of government support (45%) and lack of internal technical expertise (35%).
Majority identified drivers of the shift as faster and better decision-making (65% of respondents), improved customer experience (52%) and operational agility (45%).
The report identified other next-generation technologies that are being adopted by businesses as data analytics, cloud, artificial intelligence (AI) and automation.
It found 42% of the respondents already use cloud services and 45% expect to do so next year. For AI, it said only six percent are using it now, 45% plan to adopt it next year and 19% in two years; while 23% do not see AI adoption anytime soon. Automation is also being deployed by 45% of the respondents now, and 35% expect it by next year.
“By the end of 2019, almost 90% of survey respondents in the Philippines will be using cloud technologies, and a nearly half will launch artificial intelligence. Blockchain is a ‘horizon technology’ for the majority of firms,” the report read.
Last week, PLDT wireless unit Smart Communications, Inc. said it will be firing up this month its first 5G cell site in Clark, Pampanga. Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has a majority stake in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls.
Globe, meanwhile, scheduled deployment of its 5G network by second quarter of 2019. But like PLDT, its 5G network rollout will be limited initially to Globe at Home subscribers. — Denise A. Valdez

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